The World Cup quarterfinals are upon us and even though 24 out of the 32 teams are now back home, it wasn’t before they left a mark. They thrilled the spectators with some brave football and scored some fascinating goals. From Saudi Arabia’s Salem Al-Dawsari’s goal that stunned Argentina to Cho Gue-Sung’s leaping header against Ghana, here are some of the top goals scored in the World Cup so far…
Al-Dawsari’s strike against Argentina
Five minutes after Saleh Al-Shehri scored the equaliser for Saudi Arabia against Argentina, Salem Al-Dawsari found himself surrounded by four Argentinian defenders, including Rodrigo De Paul and Parades, in the penalty area.
The Saudi Arabian No. 10 received the lofted delivery and then turned to dodge the defenders before he tapped the ball just in front of him to curl the ball to the far right top corner of Argentina’s goal.
The goal meant Al-Dawsari became only the second Saudi Arabian player to score at two World Cups, and his goal against Mexico days later would make him tied with Al-Jaber for scoring three World Cup goals.
The rare direct free-kick goal by Chavez
Needing a win to qualify for the Round of 16, Mexico faced Saudi Arabi in their final group C encounter. With Henry Martin scoring the opener for the team against Saudi Arabia, Mexico got a free kick at the 35-yard mark. The left-footed Chavez would strike the ball at a speed of 121.69 km per hour as per data released by FIFA, to curl the ball past goal-keeper Mohammed Al-Owais to put Mexico ahead by 2-0.
At that time, Mexico were looking intact to keep their record of reaching every Round of 16 in a World Cup since 1994 intact but a late strike by Saudi Arabia meant that the side lost the spot to Poland on the basis of goal difference. Chavez’s goal was only the second goal from a free-kick in this World Cup and his precision has left many fans counting it as one of the goals of the tournament.
Asano’s accuracy against the Germans
In a match where Japan scored a 2-1 upset win over four-time champions Germany in the group E encounter, it was the excellence of Japanese striker Takuma Asano which had the football world talking. With both the teams tied at 1-1, the Asian giants got a free-kick in their half with nine minutes remaining on the clock. Itakura took the free kick with Asano receiving the ball just outside the penalty area. He then outmuscled German defender Schlotterbeck before he scored Japan’s second goal from a tight angle against German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Duke’s header against Tunisia
It was a goal which sparked a special celebration from Australian Mitch Duke. Playing against Tunisia in a group D encounter, Australia were looking to register their first win in the World Cup in 12 years. The 23rd minute of the match saw Craig Goodwin sending a cross from the left flank before the ball took a deflection off a Tunisian defender.
An alert Duke, who had a defender in front of him inside the penalty area, headed the ball clear past the Tunisian goalkeeper to spark wild celebrations in the stands. The striker would make a celebration in the shape of J with his hands for his son Jaxson, who also made the same gesture watching the match from the stands.
Sung’s heroics against Ghana
While South Korea lost 2-3 against Ghana in a Group H encounter, Cho Gue-Sung’s twin headers were the highlight, especially the second. In a tense match, where Ghana took a 2-0 lead in the first half, Sung first scored through a header from the centre of the box to pull one back for the Koreans. Three minutes later, Sung would again score from a header, this time leapfrogging two Ghanaian defenders to beat the goalkeeper.