10. Philipp Lahm, Germany vs Costa Rica
Could there have been a more deserving candidate to open up Germany’s jamboree? Munich-born superman Lahm’s effort – bathed in sunshine at his hometown’s sparkly new Allianz Arena – was the perfect appetiser for the fun to come.
Lahm picked the ball up on the left wing and cut inside onto his right foot, so a cross to one of his three waiting team-mates seemed like the logical next step. But he, being a comic-book hero, instead dispensed with all faff and cracked a pinpoint effort into the keeper's far top corner. Just five minutes into the World Cup, the Germans were in dreamland.
9. Deco, Portugal vs Iran
Deco was controversial. One of the narkiest players ever to grace the sport, he made an art form of simulation, and even some of his international team-mates didn’t want him in the World Cup squad (Luis Figo objected to the Brazil-born midfielder's flag of convenience: “If you’re born Chinese, you have to play for China”).
But when he wasn’t rolling around clutching his face, Deco was a Paul Scholes-esque package of laser-guided passing, shooting and sublime touches. Here, Figo squared to him, and the ball was in the back of the net before Iran keeper Ebrahim Mirzapour could blink. Not that blinking helps in this kind of situation.
8. Tomas Rosicky, Czech Republic vs USA
An appetite-whetter for Arsenal fans, as the little magician had just inked a move to north London.
Pavel Nedved tried to locate human telegraph mast Jan Koller in the USA box, but the American defence humped the ball clear. Alas, it fell as far as Rosicky, who showed off a wonderful touch to stop the ball dead before sizzling it between two defenders through a tiny gap in Kasey Keller’s goalmouth.
7. Torsten Frings, Germany vs Costa Rica
Recent World Cups have been a battleground between Adidas’s sphere boffins – creating rounder and rounder balls that fly faster and move in the air – and disgruntled goalkeepers who say it simply isn’t fair. This geometrically-pleasing effort, also in 2006’s opening game, was the kind of thing that resulted.
Bastian Schweinsteiger feigned to cross a free-kick into the box, but instead squared to the headband-toting Frings, who let the ball roll across his body before lashing a bullet that arced away from stopper Jose Porras in the same direction.
6. Ronaldo, Brazil vs Japan
Bagging three goals at a World Cup would be a career high for most players, but for El Fenomeno in 2006, it was something of a disappointment: he’d got four at 1998 and eight in 2002, while Brazil lost 1-0 to France in the quarter-finals.
But at least he can look back on this cracking bash against Japan, who he utterly tormented all match – an instinctive pivot-and-hit that showed just why he's among the most revered World Cup players of all time.
5. Bakary Kone, Ivory Coast vs Holland
He may have been just 5ft 6in, but the Abidjan-born lad known to all his mates as “Pele” created this goal through sheer power.
Kone glided past two Dutch midfielders before hitting the ball as hard as humanly possible. Edwin van der Sar net almost ripped open, and Kone went utterly bananas. You couldn't blame him; you would, too.
4. Andrea Pirlo, Italy vs Ghana
Pirlo had an impeccable 2006 World Cup, winning the trophy, three man-of-the-match awards, bagging the Bronze Ball for the tournament’s third best player, topping the assist charts, setting up Marco Materazzi’s header in the final, scoring in the crucial penalty shootout and having the best hair.
He also hit this humdinger against Ghana, having been given a lethal amount of time by the defence to pick his spot from range.
3. Joe Cole vs Sweden
Early in this match, Michael Owen had succumbed to the knee injury from which his career never really recovered. Cole is another filed under what might have been, but he can always look back on this – perhaps his own career high point.
Peter Crouch, on as sub for Owen, did his job by towering above the Sweden defence and menacing them with a cross-goal header, which was punted clear well by Tobias Linderoth. But Cole was looming 30 yards out: with little space to play in, he chested forward and striked through the ball with incredible precision, looping his effort over Andreas Isaksson perfectly.
It was a rare highlight in another poor World Cup showing for the Three Lions, while Cole would spend the next few seasons dogged by lack of fitness and form.
2. Maxi Rodriguez, Argentina vs Mexico
Similar to Cole’s, but better, on the basis that his chance was the result of some brilliantly patient build-up football and a pinpoint cross, rather than a fortuitous clearance – and the fact that it was a winner in a finely-poised knockout clash, as opposed to the first goal in a 2-2 group game.
Other than that, the bit Maxi did was identically delicious to Cole: he cued himself up with a lovely bit of chest control and arrowed home. Bravo.
1. Esteban Cambiasso, Argentina vs Serbia and Montenegro
Fitting that this goal completes Argentina's top 10-topping one-two: it's a sublime 25-pass move that stands as one of the greatest team goals in World Cup history. The fact that it was scored against a Serbian side who lost every group game (including this one, 6-0) and looked out of their depth shouldn’t diminish the transcendental calm that pervades Argentina – epitomised by a barely walking-pace Juan Roman Riquelme – as they tormented their quarry.
Scuttling Stevie Cambiasso, heavily involved throughout, eventually applied the finishing touch to a Hernan Crespo backheel. Everyone immediately appointed them favourites to win the tournament, but they struggled to recreate this sublime moment again, and went out in the quarters to a high-energy Germany. Gah.
- GREAT GOALS RETOLD Now read about it in Cambiasso's own words...
