At the finals tournament, Wales were drawn in Group 3 along with 1954 finalists Hungary, Mexico and hosts Sweden. Wales began with a 1–1 draw with Hungary, John Charles scoring a 27th-minute equaliser after József Bozsik had given the Magyars the lead in the fifth minute. Ivor Allchurch then gave Wales the lead after half an hour of their second game against Mexico, only for Jaime Belmonte to equalise with a minute left to play. That result left Wales in second place in the group after two matches, but their final match was against leaders Sweden. The two final matches were not played simultaneously, with Wales and Sweden kicking off five hours earlier than Hungary and Mexico, which allowed Wales to stake an early claim to a place in the quarter-finals; they held the hosts to a 0–0 draw, the first time Sweden had been shut out at home in almost a year. Because of the tie-breaking criteria in use at the tournament, that result meant that, regardless of the margin of victory, the best Hungary and Mexico could manage would be to force a play-off against Wales for a place in the quarter-finals – a draw would see them both eliminated. Hungary won the match 4–0, and the play-off was scheduled for two days later in Solna.