Top 5 World Cup Goals of All Time

There have been hundreds of awesome goals in the World Cup competition. This series of games gives the entire world a showcase of talent that will make your jaw drop. Regardless of which country you are rooting for, you have to admit that there are some amazing and simply beautiful moves and goals at this tournament. When it comes to picking the top five, that is nearly impossible. For me, these goals are not a matter of distance or accuracy, it is a matter of footwork and acrobatics. I love the head shots and the scissor kick goals. These are just amazing. Seeing a player hit the back of the net while spinning or off of their face is just mind boggling and shows some true talent and comfort on the field. Here are my choices for some amazing goals throughout the history of the World Cup (chronological order not in order of the best). For the video version, go to the time listed after each review on this video.

1966 Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany) Vs. Switzerland

While there were no dives or head butts in this goal, it truly shows some amazing footwork to thread the ball through these defenders. Hurdling over the Swiss players and weaving around the diving goalie, Beckenbauer was able to twist this ball and thread the needle all the way to the back of the net. Split second decisions and some amazing footwork makes this one of the top plays. To see this goal it is at 1:52 on the attached video.

1982 Zico (Brazil) Vs. New Zealand

This was an awesome goal by Zico. It is one of those back-flipping, somersault kicks straight into the net. There is no challenging this one as it is a laser shot straight past the goal tender. As the ball is worked downfield near the sideline, Zico's fellow Brazilian is earnestly searching for an open teammate to pass to. With Zico nestled right in front of the box, he takes a chance and rockets the orb straight across the field. Passing by three New Zealanders, the rock finds Zico. With one swift display of athleticism, Zico powers the ball in with a flipping scissor kick. You can catch it at 3:13 on the highlight reel.

1986 Manuel Negrete (Mexico) Vs. Bulgaria

This play almost looked like some circus juggling act. There were three players from team Mexico involved in this as they passed the ball around in the air. Keeping the ball off the ground for several seconds, they really stymied the surrounding Bulgarians as the Mexicans were able to dance the rock around the defenders. After this amazing little juggling act, the ball was tossed up to Negrete as he did a sideways scissor kick in mid air to power the orb into the box. This was an awesome show of teamwork as all three of these guys showcased their hackey sack skills with the ball. You can catch this one at 7:26.

1990 David Platt (England) Vs. Belgium

While there was no diving, flipping, or somersaults in this one, it looked like something from a Chuck Norris movie. This was an amazing spinning roundhouse type kick right in the goal with out even looking. As one of his fellow Brits lobbed the ball way up in the air, Platt spun around to find the rock. It was almost as high as a pop fly at a baseball game. After it finally came down, Platt was able to pick up on it and did a perfect spin kick to rocket the ball right past the goalie. You can see this one at 6:18.

1994 Yordan Letchkov (Bulgaria) Vs. Germany

This was an amazing last ditch effort for Letchkov to get possession of the rock. With nothing but his head in reach of the ball, Letchkov makes an amazing play. As Bulgaria is pushing the ball down the field, Germany is by no means letting them walk unscathed. In a desperate move, a Bulgarian knocks the orb up and towards the net in the direction of Letchkov. Without any way to get around the German defenders, Letchkov makes a last minute dive as he powers the rock into the goal off of his dome. Watching him lay out and contort his body to get around the defenders is amusing if not amazing. This one is at 1:43 on the reel.

2002 Jared Borgetti (Mexico) Vs. Italy

I know there are only supposed to be five, but like I mentioned earlier, it was just too daunting of a task for me to narrow it that far. Here is one more great shot as a parting gift for reading this article. This shot may make you think that you were at a ballet. As Team Mexico was pushing down field against Italy, they finally got a clearing. Everyone but Borgetti was open and Borgetti was the one the got the pass. As the ball was passed up toward the box, Borgetti does a spinning pirouette style head butt right past the goalie and into the net. This was awesome to watch Borgetti spin his way around the defender and get a solid laser shot right to the back of the net. You can see it at 0:38.

Here is the attached highlight reel with all of these great shots and even more.