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By Samuel Bolaji.
Football legend Pele is arguably the greatest footballer in history. He died on Thursday aged 82, after battling with cancer.
In his tribute, a former president of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, in his tribute to the legend, said Pele was the greatest in history.
Pele won three World cup titles with Brazil in 1958, 1962 and 1970, out of the total of five won by the country so far.
He scored 77 goals in 92 international appearances, in addition to multiple trophies at both domestic and international levels.
The football legend set multiple records in the world of football.
Among his multiple records, here are top five World Cup records Pele set:
Youngest player to play in the final
Pele became the youngest player ever to play in the final of the FIFA World Cup when he played for Brazil in 1958.
He was only 17 years and 249 days old in a final which became Brazil’s first-ever World Cup win after beating Sweden in the final.
Youngest goal scorer
At the 1958 FIFA World Cup, Pele scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Wales in the quarter-final at the age of 17 years and 239 days to become the youngest goal scorer ever in the tournament’s history.
Youngest hattrick scorer
At the 1958 tournament, Pele became the youngest player ever to score a hat trick at the World Cup when he scored a hat trick against France in the semis that ended in a 5-2 win in favour of Pele’s team, Brazil, at the age of 17 years and 244 days.
Youngest goal scorer in the final
Brazil’s 5-2 win over Sweden in the 1958 World Cup final saw Pele score a brace for his country to become the youngest player ever to score in a World Cup final at the age of 17 years and 249 days.
Youngest player to win the silver ball
Pele also became the youngest player to win the Silver Ball award when he won it at the 1958 World Cup tournament.
The Silver Ball award is given to the second-best player after the best player who is awarded with the Golden Ball award. Brazil’s Didi won the Golden Ball in the 1958 World Cup, while Pele took the Silver Ball, becoming the youngest to win it.
