Widely regarded as the first "modern" World Cup, the influence of TV was growing with more people seeing the matches than ever before.
There were 16 finalists for the first time and they played in four groups of four during the opening phase, before heading into a knockout competition from the quarterfinal stages onwards.
England had high hopes at the start of the year but the Manchester United air crash in Munich in February 1958 cost the lives of Roger Byrne, Tommy Taylor and Duncan Edwards, and without those tragic losses they went out in the first phase after a 1-0 playoff defeat to the Soviet Union.
Brazil won the trophy for the first time with the 17-year-old Pele launched on his way to becoming the greatest player of all time.
Pele scored against Wales in the quarterfinals and hit a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over France in the semifinals, whose striker Just Fontaine scored 13 goals in the tournament, a record total for a World Cup finals.
Brazil triumphed 5-2 over Sweden in the final, with Vava and Pele scoring twice and Zagalo netting once, while Nils Liedholm and Agne Simonsson scored for the hosts.
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