His achievements in Sweden found a wider echo in Europe, where some matches were broadcast live in several countries.
Many French fans discovered Pele on television during the semi-final when he scored three goals.
In Brazil, Selecao's distant victory sparked celebrations in the streets and, along with praise in the European press, helped raise Pele to the rank of national icon.
Brazil won the 1962 World Cup in Chile, but Pele, injured early in the game, only played a small part.
It was quite a different story eight years later in Mexico, when Selecao won its third World Cup. As the only player left from the generation that won the first two championships, Pele was still the national team's figurehead.
The 1970 win in Mexico was the crowning achievement of an international career that had begun over ten years earlier. It boosted Pele's prestige and made him the world's first global football star.
1970 final, broadcast in Mondovision, was seen by hundreds of millions of people. The event was seen by more people and on a wider scale than in 1958.
Many young football fans well beyond Brazil identified with Pele. In some cases, his career had a considerable symbolic meaning, especially in Africa.
Pele is still and above all the embodiment of the advancement of millions of long-despised human beings. Like Malcolm X, Muhammed Ali and Miriam Makeba, Pele is a symbol and a standard bearer."