10. Siphiwie Tshabalala, South Africa vs Mexico
The glorious start that World Cup 2010 deserved: a wonderful game in front of an excitable Soccer City throng, and an opening goal that would barely be bettered during the following few weeks. Tshabalala, winning his 50th cap, pounced on an excellent through ball from Teko Modise to whack home precisely from range.
“Goal for South Africa… goal for all Africa!” yelled Peter Drury bafflingly as the Bafana Bafana performed a curious variation of the Macarena (not to be confused with the Maracana) and a million vuvuzelas parped.
9. Luis Suarez, Uruguay vs South Korea
Funny to think that few British football fans had an opinion on Luis Suarez as this game kicked off, beyond knowing that he was a useful forward for Ajax and the Celeste.
One game before his naughty handball helped send Ghana home and eight months before his move to become the most loved and loathed man in the Premier League, Suarez showed his class with this outstanding piece of play.
He cut around two Korean defenders and curled the ball round Jung Sung-ryong superbly to win the second-round match – and celebrated by vaulting a row of startled photographers.
8. Keisuke Honda, Japan vs Denmark
Carlos Tevez and Mesut Ozil scored brilliant open-play long-rangers during 2010, but for our money this incredible free-kick from bleach-blond playmaker Honda trumps them both.
It was a frankly implausible place from which to go for goal, a good 30 yards out and only 10 or so inside the touchline – but with the precision of a superpowered Japanese Jonny Wilkinson, Honda arced his effort delightfully over Thomas Sorensen.
7. Sulley Muntari, Ghana vs Uruguay
Asamoah Gyan did the most damage for the Black Stars in South Africa, but Muntari’s hit was the best effort: smashed from fully 40 yards, he was certainly allowed too much time by a Uruguay side leading 1-0 and already braced for the half-time whistle – but it was still miraculous that the former Pompey man managed to beat Fernando Muslera from such range.
It was pretty much forgotten post-match following Suarez’s handball shenanigans, but deserved to be the strike that helped put Ghana through to the semis.
6. Lukas Podolski, Germany vs England
If there was one moment in the Three Lions’ Bloemfontein nightmare that illustrated how comprehensively they were being outclassed by Germany, it was this. A supremely confident and technically excellent passage of football, it began with a cool dink from the outside of Miroslav Klose’s boot, scuttled onto by Thomas Muller, who squared neatly to the advancing Podolski.
The Bayern Munich man fired through David James’s legs to double Germany’s lead. Shambolic defending can only be partly blamed.
5. Fabio Quagliarella, Italy vs Slovakia
Logic dictates that from 25 yards, the only way to beat a keeper is through velocity – but Quagliarella instead plumped for a brilliantly cocky piece of finesse, lofting the Jabulani like a backspinning sand wedge over backtracking Slovakia keeper Jan Mucha.
It counted for nought, though, scored in added time with the Azzurri trailing 3-1. The World Cup holders were already on the plane home following three risible group performances.
4. David Villa, Spain vs Honduras
Everyone points to Spain’s patient possession game when talking about their World Cup 2010 triumph, but not all their strikes were dot-to-dot: this one was the result of a decent long ball upfield and brilliant solo run by Villa, who scored five of Spain’s seven goals en route to the final.
There were three Hondurans well placed to stop him when he received the ball, but he ghosted past the first two before cutting inside the third and creating enough space to ram home while he collapsed on his backside. Poker-faced coach Vicente del Bosque reacted like he’s received some vaguely sad news.
3. Maicon, Brazil vs North Korea
It’s easy to say that a goalkeeper who concedes from this angle is out of position, but poor Ri Myong-guk could hardly have expected what occurred here: it would have taken a busload of Paolo Maldinis and Peter Schmeichels to block Maicon’s narrowly angled bullet from virtually level with the goal-line.
A wonderfully measured pass from Kaka allowed the full-back to stay onside while bombing past the entire North Korea defence. With the ball surely going out of play, the Inter man buried it inside the far post. Some may argue that it was a desperate cross that got lucky – but Maicon maintained afterwards that he meant it.
2. Diego Forlan, Uruguay vs Germany
Headers aside, bouncing a ball in off the ground is a real rarity in the great goal stakes – but 2010’s player of the tournament Forlan knew exactly what he was doing here, smashing a waist-height volley downwards around his marker and into the net.
Hans-Jorg Butt could only stand there helpless and hopeless: a shame such a great moment was “wasted” on international football’s most pointless fixture: the World Cup third-place play-off.
1. Giovanni van Bronkhorst, Holland vs Uruguay
One of the great goals of the tournament, in one of the great games of the tournament, by one of Holland’s greatest players – turning out in his 105th match for the Oranje. The defensive midfielder only grabbed a handful of strikes in his international career, but this one will linger long in the memory.
A country mile from goal, in an area where only a cross makes real sense, captain Gio whipped the controversial Jabulani hard and true into the top corner, helping to secure Holland’s first appearance in a World Cup final since 1978.
