Pele: Brazil Icon's FIFA World Cup Records That May Be Hard to Break

Pele: Brazil Icon's FIFA World Cup Records That May Be Hard to Break

Elijah Odetokun
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:21 PM
In this article:
FIFA World Cup logo
FIFA World Cup
International
  • Soccer legend Pele won three FIFA World Cups - more than any other person
  • He won the 1958 edition as a teenager, a record only matched by a Frenchman
  • Some of his records are yet to be broken and may remain for even longer time

Pele, considered by many to be the greatest of all time to ever play football, passed away aged 82 on Thursday night in Sao Paulo, Brazil after a long battle with cancer.

The man who three times won football's most coveted trophy - the FIFA World Cup - including his first in 1958 as a teenager at just under 18 years old, set three records that year which remain to this day.

Pele, World Cup, 1958, Sweden, 2010, South Africa.
Pele with the trophy in South Africa at the 2010 World Cup. Photo by Gabriel Lopes.
Source: Getty Images

He missed the opening two games of the tournament with a knee injury and made his debut in the third tie, playing all through the tournament to set many incredible records - some of which may be hard to break.

Pele's incredible World Cup records

Four of the Santos legend's records at the 1958 World Cup still stand 64 years on, and have outlived him after he passed away on Thursday night.

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

It is doubtful these will be broken soon, not for another four years at least.

Pele was the youngest player at the time to play in a World Cup when he made his debut against the USSR, a record he lost to Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside, who played in the 1982 edition aged 17 years and 40 days - about 200 days less than the Brazilian icon.

However, Pele still holds the record for being the youngest goal scorer after finding the back of the net against the USSR, the youngest to score a hat-trick after his treble against France in the semi-final, as well as the youngest goal scorer in a final with two against Sweden.

He is also the only player to win two World Cups before the age of 24, a record Kylian Mbappe missed out on after losing the 2022 final to Argentina, a few days short of his 24th birthday.

Neymar and Mbappe salute Pele

Sports Brief earlier reported that Neymar and Mbappe paid tribute to legend Pele, who passed away on Thursday night surrounded by his family.

Neymar is tied on 77 goals with Pele as Brazil's international top scorer, praising his influence on the number 10 and his transformation of football in an emotional tribute on social media.

Mbappe, who broke some of Pele's World Cup records and has been soliciting prayers for him, addressed him as the king and acknowledged that his legacy would live forever.

Authors
Elijah Odetokun photo
Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.
Tags
World