This Day in History: 2022-11-23

Nr. 350

PELÉ SCORES BRAZIL’S FIFTH GOAL (1958)

In the final minute of the 1958 World Cup final Pelé leapt high into the air and met a cross with a header that looped over Kalle Svensson for Brazil’s fifth and final goal. When the whistle blew moments later the occasion proved too much for the 17-year-old and he broke down in tears. Sobbing uncontrollably he was propped up and lifted onto the shoulders of his team-mates. «I was so excited, because we had won and I desperately wanted to tell my family,»
explained Pelé. «I wanted to phone them to find out if they knew we had won, because it was only on the radio back then.»

Overcome, Pelé cries on the shoulder of Didi as team-mates Gilmar and Orlando congratulate him on his fantastic performance.