The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ is drawing ever nearer – with just 35 days to go! Between now and the start of the World Cup, we will take a closer look at a different statistic from the history of the tournament each day.

35 - By finding the back of the net during the Final of the 1958 FIFA World Cup™ on home soil, Sweden’s Nils Liedholm, then aged 35 years, eight months and 21 days, became the oldest player to score in the tournament’s showpiece match. With Russia 2018 just around the corner, that 60-year-old record still stands.

The Scandinavian star, who had previously played a part in the Blågult’s memorable victory at the Olympic Football Tournament in 1948, took just four minutes to find a way past Brazil’s defence, sending an entire country temporarily into raptures. “He was incredible,” said Gunnar NordahI, who played alongside Liedholm at international level, as well as at AC Milan. “He could find a hole in any defence.”

Despite this dream start, the Swedes were unable to keep pace with the Seleçao, who eventually ran out 5-2 winners at the iconic Rasunda Stadium in Solna to lift the World Cup for the very first time. And who was the driving force behind the South Americans’ triumph? None other than the youngest-ever scorer in a World Cup Final, Edson Arantes Do Nascimento, otherwise known as Pele, who notched two goals in Solna aged 17 years, 8 months and six days – another record that holds firm to this day.