Brazil Surpasses Expectations with Stellar Goal-Overs!
The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event. Pelé holds a number of records in soccer, and the World Cup is no exception.
The Brazil legend remains the only player to win three World Cups. At his very first World Cup in 1958, he announced himself in historic fashion: scoring at 17 years and 239 days old to become the youngest goal scorer in tournament history. Five days later, he became the youngest player to record a hat trick at the World Cup; and five days after that he became the youngest ever to score in a final.
Pelé's impact didn’t stop there. His 12 World Cup goals are tied for third-most all time, alongside France's Kylian Mbappé. He is also one of five players to score in four World Cups, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, Miroslav Klose, Lionel Messi and Uwe Seeler.
And then there’s the winning. Three World Cup titles goes a long way to boosting one's winning percentage. Pelé is no exception.
He won an incredible 86% of his games at the World Cup in his career (12 wins in 14 matches) for Brazil.