Which team did Pelé face when scoring his first senior goal?

Pelé scored his first senior goal against Corinthians de Santo André. The match took place on 7 September 1956, when the 15-year-old appeared for Santos in a friendly celebrating Brazil’s Independence Day.

Santos won 7–1, and Pelé scored during the rout. Contemporary accounts and later club histories identify the opponent as Corinthians de Santo André, a separate club from Sport Club Corinthians Paulista of São Paulo. That distinction matters because the similar names can easily lead quiz-takers to select São Paulo’s better-known Corinthians.

The goal came only months after Waldemar de Brito had brought Pelé to Santos for a trial. Pelé had impressed coach Lula and signed professionally in June, but he was still a teenager developing his place in the senior squad. His first goal was an early indication of the scoring talent that would soon make him Santos’ central attacking star.

Pelé’s first official prominence followed in 1957, when he became the Campeonato Paulista’s leading scorer at age 16. His 1956 debut, however, was a friendly, and the opponent for both his senior debut and first senior goal was Corinthians de Santo André.