Top Ten Goal Celebrations of The World Cup

One of the best parts of watching a player score a goal on the world's biggest stage, the World Cup, is seeing how they celebrate it, because you can see the pure joy in how they score, especially in the players who are scoring in their first World Cup. This article will show the top 10 celebrations!

10. James Rodriguez: Colombia vs Ivory Coast (2014)

James Rodriguez, a Colombian player was one of the best players in the 2014 World Cup, he won the golden boot for scoring the most goals in the tournament, and he is known for a beautiful spinning volley against Uruguay in that year's tournament. But right now we will be talking about the average goal that led to an amazing team celebration in the group stage. There was nothing special about the goal, as Rodriguez slammed the ball into the net with his head off a corner, but celebration was something else. James Rodriguez ran over to the sideline and he and his teammates started a dance. This dance seemed to be choreographed, with the substitutes joining in. This goal was huge and it proved to be the difference in a 2-1 win against Ivory Coast in a group stage campaign where Colombia went undefeated.

9. Rashidi Yekini: Nigeria vs. Bulgaria (1994)

This celebration from Rashidi Yekini, a Nigerian striker has become one of the most iconic celebrations in World Cup history, even though it came off a simple group stage goal. This goal came in the 21st minute of the opener for Nigeria and Bulgaria, it started as the Nigerians passed the ball up the right wing of the field with pace and then Finidi George passed the ball into the middle leaving just a tap in for Rashidi Yekini who had just scored his first and last goal in a World Cup. Yekini continued running in the same direction as he did when scoring, which got him into the back of the net, where instead of leaving, he yelled and shuck his hands in the net, showing pure joy in a game that ended up being a 3-0 win for Nigeria.

8. Robbie Keane: Saudi Arabia vs Ireland (2002)

Robbie Keane and the rest of the 2002 Ireland team went into a group stage game against Saudi Arabia knowing that they would have to win the match if they were to make it to the next round. But the moment that Ireland needed didn't take long, the fans only had to wait 7 minutes, as Robbie Keane, the Irish striker, slammed a beautiful volley into the back of the net. And then, the 21 year old striker sprinted to the sideline where he did a cartwheel that led into a somersault which ended with him on his feet, pumping his fist into the air. Luckily, this goal was just the first of three, which put Ireland into the Round of 16.

7. Papa Bouba Diop: Senegal vs France (2002)

The only thing better than a brilliant celebration is a brilliant celebration after a brilliant goal, and that is what this was. The goal by Senegal's defensive midfielder, Papa Bouba Diop, was the only goal in a huge group stage upset. His goal, which he kicked in off of a rebound from his first shot, was the goal that gave Senegal (Ranked 32nd on the FIFA World Rankings at that time) the 1-0 win over France. (Ranked 3rd on the FIFA World Ranking at that time, and ended up losing the group.) After this, Diop ran over to the corner flag and took off his shirt, (Leaving his undershirt on) laid it on the ground and started dancing around it, soon his teammates joined in, while the crowd went wild. This went down as one of the weirdest yet the most memorable goal celebrations in World Cup history.

6. Josimar: Brazil v Northern Ireland (1986)

Josimar's goal celebration became iconic, not because of how flashy or difficult it was, but because it was a true expression of joy. Brazil were playing against Northern Ireland in the group stage, a game where the Brazilians cruised to a 3-0 win, but one of those goals came from an unlikely source, a Brazilian defender. This defender was Josimar, who slammed a shot into the top right corner of the net from distance. He then began sprinting down the field screaming with his hands in the air, obviously shocked and excited by the fact that he, a defender who didn't score many goals had just scored an absolute stunner.

5. Julius Aghahowa: Nigeria vs Sweden (2002)

Despite losing the group and even the game that he scored in, Julius Aghahowa's celebration after scoring the first goal in a loss against Sweden will be remembered as one of the most acrobatic celebrations of all time. On a cross from Joseph Yobo, two players go for the ball, the Swedish goalkeeper- Magnus Hedman, and Julius Aghahowa, the latter of the two got there first, and he nodded the ball into the back of the net with his head. After that, Aghahowa did a couple of backwards cartwheels, and then finished off the celebration with a backflip, and all of this amazing celebration was done without stopping.

4. Bebeto: Brazil vs Netherlands (1994)

In a 3-2 win over the Netherlands in the 1994 World Cup, Bebeto scored a goal and made an announcement with the celebration. Bebeto intercepted the ball, got past a defender, dribbled past the goalkeeper, and shot the ball into in an open net. After this, the forward began moving his hands back and forth, like he was rocking an imaginary baby, his teammates joined in. This was to announce that he had a baby to the millions of viewers worldwide. A few days earlier, Bebeto's third child, Mattheus, was born, and he grew up to be a soccer player, although he did not become as famous as his father, who ended up winning the 1994 World Cup

3. Brian Laudrup: Denmark vs. Brazil (1998)

In the Quarter Finals of the 1998 World Cup, a game between Denmark and Brazil is going on, Brazil is winning 2-1, until the 50th minute. A cross gets put in by the Danes, an unlucky Brazilian defender tries a bicycle kick to get it out of his box, but misses, this leaves Brian Laudrup wide open on the right side of the area, he takes his time to control the ball, and then rockets it into the top right corner of the net. After this, Laudrup runs over to the sideline, and makes a slide tackle, but then, he stays in that position, and puts his hand up to hold his head while staring into the camera. Denmark lost the game, but that celebration will never be lost.

2. Marco Tardelli: Italy vs West Germany (1982)

This celebration may seem simple, but it is one of the most iconic celebrations in soccer history. Marco Tardelli scored a goal that put Italy ahead 2-0 against West Germany in the World Cup Final which Italy won 3-1. After scoring this, Tardelli ran around the pitch yelling "Goal" while he cried tears of joy.

1. Roger Milla: Cameroon vs Colombia (1990)

Roger Milla, an aged attacker was a couple of years into his retirement when he received a call from the president of Cameroon, who asked him if he would come back to join the national team. Milla accepted and the team somehow beat Argentina and they won their group with Milla scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Romania. The team won against Colombia in the Round of 16, where Milla scored two goals in extra time in another 2-1 win. On all of these goals, Roger Milla would run to the corner flag and do a little dance, although they didn't didn't make it any further in the tournament, that Cameroon team will always be remembered... for a little dance.