When Pele Broke Our Hearts: Wales and the 1958 World Cup

Pele scored his first World Cup goal for Brazil against Wales in the Quarter finals of the 1958 Tournammment. Wales lost 1-0 and have not qualified for football's (Soccer) premier event since. The fascinating story of Wales and the 1958 World Cup is told here for the first time by Mario Risoli. The team's initial failure to qualify after finishing second in their garoup to Czechoslovkia was dramatically turned around when they beat Israel in a playoff. Not only did Wales win but two Manchester United players choose country over club and were in Cardiff when many of their team mates died on the runway in Munich. The Welsh FA, in their wisdom, decided to save money by reducing the squad by two players yet travelled to Sweden with 36 committee men and seats booked on the first plane to London following the first round games. Much to their surprise and inconvenience the team qualified for the quarter finals forcing the "men in blazers" to fly to London only to catch the first flight back to Sweden.