All the goals of World Cup Day 4, ranked

Day 4 of the 2018 World Cup wasn’t quite as filled with goals as previous days, but the goals we did get, hoo baby. No penalty kicks or own goals in this batch, just sweet, sweet goals, including a massively important one for Mexico in their stunning upset win over defending World Cup champions Germany, a breathtaking strike from Coutinho, a free kick from Kolarov that was absolutely perfect ... it was all there.

So let’s rank them:

This goal may not have been the most beautiful, but it was the most surprising on the day. Brazil had totally dominated Switzerland for the first 48 minutes of the match, then Swtizerland got a corner kick, and after the slightest of shoves, Steven Zuber had a free header to finish from three yards out. Soccer is a funny old game.

I’m ranking these goals on quality, and not on meaning, so Hirving Lozano, AKA “Chucky,” is only #3 on this list. But for what his goal meant to Mexico, and how it lifted up a nation in a stunning upset victory over Germany, there was no more important goal scored on Sunday.

Aleksandar Kolarov is a decent defender and an OK passer of the ball, but he is truly elite at one thing: Kicking the everliving shit out of a soccer ball with his left foot. And good lord, did he do that here, this gorgeous free kick which gave Serbia a 1-0 win over Costa Rica.

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I’m not sure there’s a more beautiful way to score a goal than how Coutinho scored this goal to give Brazil a 1-0 lead over Switzerland. The collection, the first touch, the strike, the swerve on the ball, the way it pings in off the post. From one angle, you can see how the ball starts outside the post and then hooks in, ever so gracefully, into the net. It’s moments like that which keep us coming back to this game.