What an incredible day of World Cup soccer. What looked like a pedestrian slate of games with little stakes — Uruguay and Russia were already through! Spain and Portugal would coast! — turned into one of the more tense and thrilling days of the tournament.
The 12 goals of World Cup Day 12, ranked
This was a very, very good day for goals at the World Cup, from Isco to Quaresma to Mohamed Salah.
Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images
We also had goals. So many goals.
Let’s rank them.
12. Cheryshev own goal
While I did rank all of the 2018 World Cup own goals today, I will not celebrate them in this article. In this ranking, own goals are sad. Even if they are well taken!
11. Al-Faraj penalty
This was a beautifully taken penalty kick, but it’s still a penalty kick.
10. Karim Ansarifard penalty
This was another well taken penalty kick, and the stakes were a bit higher, but it’s still a penalty kick. Moving on.
9. Cavani finishes a corner
8. Al-Dawsari fires in a winner
This was a great game-winning goal, but the lack of stakes and the fact that it seemed like half of the Egypt team just wanted to get out of there slightly devalues the goal. Also, there were so many good goals today.
7. Boutaib pounces on a Spain error
Yes, this goal was the result of a bad mistake from Spain (Iniesta of all people, too!), but that doesn’t change the fact that Khalid Boutaib did fantastically to carry the ball and finish past probably the best goalkeeper in the world.
5. Youssef En-Nesyri header off corner
GO ON THERE PUT IT UP FOR THE BIG FELLA AND LET HIM GET HIS NOGGIN ON IT.
6. Isco equalizes off an Iniesta pass
It speaks to the excellence of Spain that I didn’t even get that hyped about this goal, a gorgeous bit of passing that totally picked apart the Morocco defense. This is just what Spain does. No one else can do it, but still.
4. Luis Suarez’s biting free kick
I will not apologize for the joke I made above re: this free kick. It’s been a long World Cup, and I will take any stupid thing that makes me giggle. I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE.
3. Mo Salah with a delightful touch over the keeper
Salah’s celebration — an exhausted shrugging of the shoulders, more or less — spoke to the entire situation with this Egypt trip to the World Cup, which ended with three defeats and a lot of infighting. But good lord that finish was beautiful.
2. Aspas finishes gorgeously
This goal wasn’t properly celebrated in the moment because it was initially ruled offside. VAR fixed that, but now that we know it counted, we can stand and applaud that finish. Beautiful.
1. Quaresma. Just Quaresma.
Quaresma loves to shoot the ball with the outside of his right foot more than you or I love anything. However much you think you love something, Quaresma loves shooting the ball with the outside of his right foot more.
Here, an ode to a beautiful love:
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