Footballing World | Goals of the World Cup

World Cup Blog

Goals of the World Cup

By Matthew Day ⋅ June 18, 2006 ⋅

I don’t think anyone can remember a World Cup with so many great goals in such a short period. The group stages are still to be concluded but already there are many candidates for the goal of the World Cup accolade. Footballing World runs through some of the best so far, with 15 on the list as of the 17th of June…

A. Philip Lahm
Germany vs Costa Rica, 9 June

A delightful opening strike of the World Cup finals as Lahm turns inside from the attentions of Costa Rican defenders and from the left-hand edge of the penalty area curls in a wonderful shot, clipping the far post on its way in.

B. Torsten Frings
Germany vs Costa Rica, 9 June

The same match and this time the final goal of an epic game. Frings utilised the light new ball and hammered in a 30-yard volley that at first was hit straight but it then curled away and landed in that right-hand corner once again – a simply unstoppable shot.

C. Javier Saviola
Argentina vs Ivory Coast, 10 June

The South Americans were in fluent mode, summed up in this finish from the mini-front man. The instrumental playmaker Riquelme fed in a succulent ball through the defence and Saviola beat the offside trap and scored with a deft, single touch which slid under the goalkeeper.

D. Arjen Robben
Serbia & Montenegro vs Holland, 11 June

A route one goal from the footballing masters, as Arsenal man Robin van Persie lifts an acute ball over the defence and Robben beats the offside trap and a tug on the shirt to steam forward and finish neatly.

E. Tomas Rosicky
USA vs Czech Republic, 12 June

A goal that will go down as one of the most spontaneous of the tournament as Arsenal new-boy Rosicky showed off his incredible long-range abilities. Over 30 yards out, the Czech playmaker sent the ball between two defenders en route to the right-hand corner with the ball swerving away from the despairing Kasey Keller.

F. Andrea Pirlo
Italy vs Ghana, 12 June

Pirlo put Italy on their way to an opening victory with an excellent strike from outside of the penalty box – about 25 yards out. A short corner beat the Ghanaian defence and the Italian curled it home, beating everyone in the box.

G. Tim Cahill
Australia vs Japan, 12 June

Cahill made it three great goals in the three games of the day as he curled Australia into the lead against Japan. With the scores level, he picked up the ball outside of the penalty area, took two touches and sent the ball home off the left-hand post to hand the Aussie’s their first ever World Cup win.

H. Lee Chun-Soo
South Korea vs Togo, 13 June

The Koreans reached the semis four years ago, and found themselves behind to the troubled Togolese. But Chung-Soo took a free-kick 25 yards out and beat the goalkeeper at the left-hand post with a curling effort to level things up.

I. Kaka
Brazil vs Croatia, 13 June

Brazil was looking off-colour until Kaka’s sumptuous strike gave them a scarcely deserved victory. 25 yards out, he collects the ball, sizes up his chances before unleashing an unstoppable curling left-footed effort after evading two defenders.

J. Fernando Torres
Spain vs Ukraine, 14 June

A harsh welcome to the World Cup was dished out by Spain to their European neighbours, and the splendid performance was summed up with a brilliantly worked team goal to make it 4-0. Carles Puyol started the exquisite move by running forward, evading one challenge by turning the defender wonderfully and then another before chesting into Torres’s path and he produced a great finish from 18 yards.

K. Steven Gerrard
England vs Trinidad & Tobago, 15 June

Hardly a vintage performance by any standards, but Liverpool’s Gerrard ended T&T’s resilience with an expert finish past Shaka Hislop. It was not in the same class as his effort past the same goalkeeper in the FA Cup final, but he still swivelled around a defender before picking his spot and curling the ball into the left-hand corner.

L. Robin van Persie
Holland vs Ivory Coast, 16 June

The Arsenal man is known for his striking abilities, and they were on show again as he netted a free-kick from 20 yards. He uniquely struck it without much curl and so it beat the wall and powered its way into the top left-hand corner, with the goalkeeper unable to reach it due to the sheer power on the effort.

M. Bakari Kone
Holland vs Ivory Coast, 16 June

The Ivory Coast hit back with an Owen-esque effort, from 1998, from Kone. He picked the ball up 10 yards in the Dutch half before steaming past two defenders and unleashed a 20-yard explosive effort with his right-foot that ended up beating Edwin van der Sar in his top right-hand corner.

N. Esteban Cambiasso
Argentina vs Serbia & Montenegro, 16 June

Argentina produced the display of the group stages, and their second goal was one of the best in recent time. The 24-pass move that went via nine of the ten outfield players started at a slow pace but precise passing and accuracy, and ended with a burst of movement: Saviola found Cambiasso who flicked it onto Crespo before he back-heeled it back in his path, and Cambiasso finished skilfully into the roof of the net. It is likely to be the goal of the tournament, and a complete contrast to the stunning effort mentioned above.

O. Deco
Portugal vs Iran, 17 June

Portugal were stale until Deco’s wonder goal. Luis Figo picked up the ball on the left flank and then moved past one defender before passing to the Brazilian-born Deco who leant back and while sliding to the ground managed to keep the ball under control and it slowly rose before ending up in the left-hand corner and inspiring his side to victory.