Group 1
The West Germans, surprise world champions four years before, were still very strong, and fielded an exciting young forward in Uwe Seeler. But the Germans this time had to contend with a real powerhouse in Argentina's team, competing for the first time since 1934. In fact, many experts thought Argentina had a very realistic chance of winning the World Cup this time.
Czechoslovakia was a fairly strong team with a rich football tradition, and was considered to be no walk-over for the Germans or the Argentinians, but nobody expected much from tiny Northern Ireland. But the Northern Irish had already shown that they could be a danger to anyone, by knocking out double world champions Italy in the qualifying tournament for the World Cup.
In the end, the Northern Irish did pull off one of biggest upsets in World Cup Finals history by qualifying for the quarterfinals, beating Czechoslovakia in a play-off. Finishing last in the group with a -5 goal differential was a horrible blow for Argentina, and on the way home the Argentinian team met the wrath of several thousand angry football fans at Ezeiza International Airport.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 West Germany | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 1.40 | 4 |
 Northern Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0.80 | 3 |
 Czechoslovakia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 2.00 | 3 |
 Argentina | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 0.50 | 2 |
Group 2
The second group saw the largest number of goals scored in a single group in the 1958 World Cup with 27 goals in total (4.5 goals per game). Just Fontaine of France scored 6 of his 13 goals in the tournament, making him the tournament's top scorer going into the quarter-finals.
None of the teams in this group had been particularly successful at previous World Cups. France had not achieved any real World Cup success, Yugoslavia had not been able to replicate their semi-final success of 1930 and Paraguay and Scotland were considered underdogs during the tournament.
France won the group ahead of Yugoslavia and would go on to finish third.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 | 1.57 | 4 |
 Yugoslavia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 1.17 | 4 |
 Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 0.75 | 3 |
 Scotland | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0.67 | 1 |
Group 3
The Swedish hosts could count themselves lucky in ending up in a rather weak group, which they proceeded to win fairly easily with their powerful workmanlike football. The group did of course include Hungary, which had been considered by far the best team in the world some years ago - although the Hungarians could not beat West Germany in the final of the World Cup in 1954. But the Hungarian team had been dealt a blow by the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, after which star players like Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Puskás left their homeland. Striker Nándor Hidegkuti was still playing, but he was by now 36 years old and nowhere near his former form.
In spite of Hungary's recent travails, everyone expected the Hungarian players to advance from their group. The success of Wales therefore was a great surprise, but the Welsh managed to draw all the group games and then beat the once-mighty Hungarians in a play-off match to decide which nation should follow Sweden into the knock-out stage. Had goal difference been the decider, Hungary would have gone through, as the Hungarians had a goal ratio 6-3 compared to 2-2 of Wales. As it was, Wales had the honour of meeting Brazil in the quarterfinals and becoming the recipient of young Pelé´s first World Cup goal.
The match between Hungary and Mexico in Sandviken became the northern-most World Cup match in history.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sweden | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5.00 | 5 |
 Wales | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.00 | 3 |
 Hungary | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2.00 | 3 |
 Mexico | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0.13 | 1 |
Group 4
In advance the experts considered the Fourth group the toughest one in this World Cup. Notwithstanding the disappointments of the previous tournaments, Brazil was considered extremely powerful, as would indeed prove to be the case. The Soviet Union was the reigning Olympic champion and Austria had won the bronze medal in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, four years earlier. And although England was not considered at its very best it was still always a formidable team.
In the end, this group had the highest average attendance, even higher than Group 3 with the host nation, Sweden.
The quality of the football in this group did not quite live up to expectations, however. Only 15 goals were scored in the whole group, lower than in any of the other groups. And when England and Brazil drew 0-0, it was the first time in World Cup history that a game ended with no goals.
Brazil won the group without conceding a single goal. The teenage Pelé played Brazil's last game against the Soviet Union. He did not score but drew wild reviews for his play. The Soviet Union, in its first World Cup, took second place.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Brazil | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | ∞ | 5 |
 Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1.00 | 3 |
 England | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1.00 | 3 |
 Austria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0.29 | 1 |
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 19 June – Malmö | ||||||||||
| West Germany | 1 | |||||||||
| 24 June - Gothenburg | ||||||||||
| Yugoslavia | 0 | |||||||||
| West Germany | 1 | |||||||||
| 19 June - Solna | ||||||||||
| Sweden | 3 | |||||||||
| Sweden | 2 | |||||||||
| 29 June – Solna | ||||||||||
| Soviet Union | 0 | |||||||||
| Sweden | 2 | |||||||||
| 19 June - Norrköping | ||||||||||
| Brazil | 5 | |||||||||
| France | 4 | |||||||||
| 24 June – Solna | ||||||||||
| Northern Ireland | 0 | |||||||||
| France | 2 | Third place | ||||||||
| 19 June - Gothenburg | ||||||||||
| Brazil | 5 | 28 June - Gothenburg | ||||||||
| Brazil | 1 | |||||||||
| West Germany | 3 | |||||||||
| Wales | 0 | |||||||||
| France | 6 | |||||||||
| Världsmästerskapet i Fotboll Sverige 1958 | |
|---|---|
1958 FIFA World Cup official logo
| |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Sweden |
| Dates | 8 – 29 June |
| Teams | 16 (from 3 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 12 (in 12 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Brazil (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Sweden |
| Third place | France |
| Fourth place | West Germany |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 35 |
| Goals scored | 126 (3.6 per match) |
| Attendance | 919,580 (26,274 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Just Fontaine (13 goals) |
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