King Pele’s incredible numbers: Hundreds of goals and 3 World Cups

News Network
December 30, 2022

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Pele, the man they called O Rei, the King, passed away on Thursday, aged 82, after a drawn-out battle with illness in Sao Paulo's Albert Einstein hospital. Synonymous with the term 'o jogo bonito', the beautiful game, he transcended the sport like none before or since.

Arguably the greatest footballer of all time, his legacy goes well beyond numbers. It is also a fact that so much of his career went unrecorded: For instance, he was known to be a great playmaker (sample that assist to Carlos Alberto in the 1970 World Cup final) but there is almost no official assist data available.

What we do have is more than enough, though, to paint the picture of the man who will always remain the benchmark for all football:

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, Pele: 1940-2022

1

Pele is the only man to win three FIFA World Cups. He won in 1958, 1962 and 1970

1281

Pele scored a record 1281 goals in 1363 games (including 'non-official' games). It's important to consider these games because of the number of high-quality 'friendlies' Santos played around the world in that era. There are quite a few 'total-goal-tallies' floating around, but this one from the IFFHS is the most accepted.

643

If we take only official goals, though... he scored 643 official goals for Santos, the second most of all-time by a player with a single club (only behind Lionel Messi's 672 for Barcelona).

6, 2, 2

Pele won six Brazilian titles, two Copa Libertadores titles and two Intercontinental Cups with Santos (1962 & 1963)

1

He also won the 1977 NASL title with the New York Cosmos, scoring 64 goals in three seasons (aged 35-37).

12

Pele ended his World Cup career in 1970 as the player with the second most goals in Men's World Cup history (12, 1 behind France's Just Fontaine). He scored 6 in 1958, 1 in 1962, 1 in 1966 and 4 in 1970. He is now tied-6th highest with Kylian Mbappe. (Above them are Fontaine, Lionel Messi, Gerd Muller, Ronaldo Nazario and Miroslav Klose)

1/5

Pele is 1 of 5 players to score in 4 FIFA Men's World Cups, along with Cristiano Ronaldo (5), Messi, Klose, and Uwe Seeler.

77

Pele scored 77 goals for Brazil, in just 92 matches. He was Brazil's sole top-scorer for over 60 years (1962-2022) until he was tied by Neymar during the 2022 World Cup. Neymar did take 32 more appearances to hit that mark, though.

80.43%

Of the 92 matches he played, Brazil won 67, drew 14 and lost just 11 games; that's a win percentage of 80.43%. It increased when he and Garrincha were on the field... Brazil never lost a match when they fielded the two geniuses.

0.84

Pele's goals per game rate of 0.84 is the best in Brazil's national team history (min. 30 goals). For context, Neymar's 77 came at 0.62 and Ronaldo's 62 came at 0.63.

16

He made his Brazil debut aged... 16, and played his last match for them aged 31 (in 1971).

17+

Pele was the youngest player at the World Cup to score a goal (17 years, 239 days), score a hat trick (17 years, 244 days), and score in a final (17 years 249 days). He truly lit up Sweden in 1958.

86%

This is an incredible number. Of all players to have made more than 10 World Cup appearances, Pele has the best win percentage (14 games, 12 wins @ 86%).

72.8%

In 2000, he was named FIFA Player of the Century (for the 20th Century), receiving nearly 3/4 of the vote from FIFA officials, journalists, and coaches (72.8%). Diego Maradona won the internet portion of the voting, and so the two were named Co-Players of the Century.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israel has launched a new act of aggression on a residential neighborhood in Lebanon's capital, Beirut, killing and injuring about two dozen civilians.

The Israeli regime's military said in a statement that its forces carried out a so-called precise strike in a residential apartment in Dahiyeh in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Sunday.

The aggression targeted residential areas, killing at least five people and injuring more than 28 people, Lebanon's Health Ministry said. 

Hezbollah announced the martyrdom of senior Hezbollah commander Haytham Ali Tabatabai and four resistance fighters.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun condemned the airstrike, calling it a clear demonstration of Tel Aviv’s disregard for repeated international calls to halt violations on Lebanese soil.

“Israel refuses to implement international resolutions and all efforts aimed at ending the escalation and restoring stability,” Aoun said, urging the international community to take action to prevent further aggression.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement also condemned the attack, holding the international community accountable. 

“The international community bears responsibility and continues to provide cover for these attacks as long as it does not restrain the occupiers,” said Ali Abu Shahin, a member of the group’s political bureau.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that the Israeli army carried out a strike “in the heart of Beirut."

Netanyahu reportedly approved the operation following recommendations from top Israeli security officials.

Two senior US officials commented on the Israeli strike.

The first official said that Israel did not notify Americans in advance about the attack. "We were informed immediately after the strike was carried out."

The second senior official said that the "US knew for several days that Israel was planning to escalate its strikes in Lebanon, but did not know in advance the timing, location, or target of the strike."

Speaking from the site of the Israeli strike, Lebanese MP Ali Ammar condemned the attack as part of a broader campaign of aggression that has targeted "all of Lebanon since the Washington-sponsored ceasefire."

He stated that "any attack on Lebanon is a violation of red lines; this aggression is part and parcel of the entity that targets Lebanon's dignity, sovereignty, and security of citizens."

Ammar went on to say the resistance is responding with "utmost wisdom, patience, and will confront the enemy at the appropriate time."

"Unfortunately, the enemy is emboldened to commit its aggression by voices within Lebanon that have turned themselves into tools that support its aggression," he added.

The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital is the latest blatant violation of the ceasefire Israel signed with Hezbollah in November 2024, which was intended to end hostilities that had escalated into full-scale war.

An Israeli strike on the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Sidon in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least 14 people. It wounded several others, including young students, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The military claimed the attack targeted “a Hamas training compound” used to plan and carry out attacks against the regime -- a claim that has frequently been made without evidence.

Hamas rejected the allegations as “a blatant lie aimed at justifying the massacre,” stating it had “no military installations in the Palestinian camps in Lebanon” and that the targeted site was merely “an open sports field.”

According to Lebanese authorities, Israeli attacks have killed approximately 4,000 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents across the country since October 2023.

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News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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