When a 17-year-old Pele arrived in Sweden for the 1958 World Cup, the youngster was suffering with a knee injury that was threatening to ruin his chances of becoming the youngest player to feature at the tournament.
Not too much was known across the globe about the striker, but those in his native Brazil knew just how much of a talent they had at their disposal. By the time the competition had concluded, everybody would remember the name Pele.
He returned from his complaint to feature in the third match against the USSR, but it wasn't until the quarter-finals in a 1-0 win over Wales that he scored his first ever World Cup goal.
A hat-trick followed in the 5-2 demolition of France and all of a sudden at not even 18, Pele was the main focal point of the Brazilian national team.
© PA Photos
The final, played 55 years ago today, pitted the Samba nation against hosting Sweden.
AC Milan frontman Nils Liedholm put the Swedes in front early on, but then a brace from Vava, coupled with strikes by Pele and Mario Zagallo left Brazil on the cusp of their maiden World Cup success.
Agne Simonsson, who would later join Real Madrid, reduced the arrears 10 minutes from time, but just moments before the final whistle was blown, Pele netted his sixth goal of the tournament to seal a 5-2 victory for Vicente Feola's side.
Before the tournament had got underway, Pele had just five caps to his name. He would go on to score 77 international goals overall - a Brazilian record - and is argued by many to be the greatest player to have ever played the game.
Liam Apicella
