Brazil won every match they played six victories, no draws, no defeats. They scored 19 goals. Every game was an exhibition. Pelé, Jairzinho, Tostão, Gérson, Rivelino, and Carlos Alberto played as if choreographed. In colour television's first World Cup, Brazil's yellow shirts became the image of football itself.

Italy tried to contain them. It lasted 18 minutes. Pelé headed the opener. Gérson's left-foot drive made it 2-0. Jairzinho scored in every match of the tournament. Then came Carlos Alberto's goal a nine-pass team move from left to right, finished with a thundering drive the greatest World Cup goal ever scored. Brazil 4, Italy 1. They kept the Jules Rimet trophy permanently. The greatest team in history.

This would be the first World Cup broadcast in colour. FIFA had sold television rights and European broadcasters demanded midday kick-off times, despite Mexico's extreme altitude and heat. Brazil, with Pelé playing his last World Cup, were expected to dazzle. Italy and West Germany were the European heavyweights.

Student massacres in Mexico City in 1968 were still fresh. The Vietnam War was at its height. The Apollo programme was redefining human ambition. The world was watching through screens more than ever before.

Mexico City, Guadalajara, Puebla, León, and Toluca hosted matches. Mexico City, at 2,240 metres above sea level, posed the greatest altitude challenge. Guadalajara became the tournament's second city, hosting Brazil's group matches. Teams acclimatised at altitude training camps weeks before the tournament. Training grounds were often basic by European standards, but the hospitality was warm.

The tournament brought unprecedented international attention to Mexico, still recovering from the political fallout of the 1968 student massacres. Tourism revenues were substantial. The colour television broadcasts beamed images of Mexican culture, architecture, and landscapes to a global audience for the first time. Mexico City's infrastructure improvements for the 1968 Olympics laid the groundwork for the capital's modernisation.

Pelé played his final World Cup at 29 and was magnificent scoring, assisting, and dominating. Gerd Müller scored 10 goals with ruthless efficiency, every strike from close range. Jairzinho scored in every match Brazil played, the only player to achieve this in a World Cup. Rivelino's left foot was a weapon of surgical precision.

Carlos Alberto's goal in the final a nine-pass team move finished with a thundering right-foot drive is considered the greatest World Cup goal ever scored. Pelé's dummy against Uruguay, running one side of the goalkeeper while the ball went the other, is remembered even though he missed the shot. Gordon Banks's save from Pelé's header is the most famous save in history. This was football's golden hour.