World Cup soccer: Top 10 goals from Qatar 2022

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Kylian Mbappe of France plays against England in a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal Saturday in Al Khor, Qatar. File Photo by Chris Brunskill/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 13 (UPI) — Richarlison, Christian Pulisic and Kylian Mbappe were among the soccer stars who scored goals that land inside my Top 10 scores so far at the 2022 World Cup, through the quarterfinals. A total of 158 goals were scored in the 60 games played so far in Qatar. Mbappe leads the tournament with five goals in five games played. The star striker also led France, the defending champions, to the semifinals. Advertisement
Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Olivier Giroud rank second, with four goals apiece through their five appearances. Richarlison scored three goals in four games for Brazil, the tournament favorites who were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar and Mexico’s Luis Chavez also scored magnificent goals, which are included in my Top 10. The Qatar 2022 semifinals will be Tuesday and Wednesday. The World Cup final will be Sunday in Lusail.
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Richarlison vs. Serbia
Richarlison scored arguably the best goal of the World Cup in Brazil’s 2-0 group stage win over Serbia on Nov. 24 in Lusail.
The electric striker gave Brazil a 1-0 lead with a follow-up score in the 62nd minute. He then showed off his athleticism with a scissor kick score to beat Serbian goalie Vanja Milinkovic-Savic.
Forward Vinicius Jr. brought the ball up the left flank to spark the score. He then lifted an outside-the-foot cross into the middle of the box.
Richarlison used his left boot to flick the ball up, while he was facing away from the goal. He then launched himself into the air and used his right foot to fire a shot into the left side of the net.
Richarlison vs. South Korea
Richarlison’s final goal of his World Cup run also is worthy of a spot in the Top 10. That goal came in the 29th minute of a 4-1 win over South Korea in the Round of 16.
Brazil led 2-0 when Richarlison tracked down a loose ball flying above the box. He calmly bounced the ball on his head, while standing between a crowd of defenders. He then brought the ball down to his feet and sent a short pass to Marquinhos.
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Marquinhos followed with another quick pass to fellow fullback Thiago Silva, who used his first touch to rope another feed onto Richarlison’s right boot.
Richarlison finished the play with a left-footed shot past goalie Kim Seung-gyu.
Christian Pulisic vs. Iran
Pulisic provided the most important goal for the United States Men’s National Team when he scored against Iran in the Americans’ group stage finale.
The Americans and Iranians were tied at 0-0 when midfielder Weston McKennie received the ball about 30 yards from the net. McKennie lifted his head and chipped a cross into the right side of the box. Right back Sergino Dest used his head to fire a pass in front of the net.
Pulisic then came flying into the area and used his right foot to score from point-blank range, before he slammed into Iran goalie Alireza Beiranand. Pulisic sustained a pelvic contusion during the score and did not play in the second half, but returned for the Round of 16.
Pulisic recorded one goal and a team-high two assists at the World Cup.
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Vincent Aboubakar vs. Serbia
Aboubakar also scored a sensational goal in the World Cup’s group stage. The striker scored Cameroon’s second goal of their 3-3 draw with Serbia on Nov. 28 in Al Wakrah.
Serbia led Cameroon 3-1 when fullback Jean-Charles Castelletto spotted Aboubakar sprinting past the defense in transition. Castelletto fired a pass ahead for the forward, who tapped the ball down and raced toward the Serbian goal. He then sidestepped a defender and used his next touch to chip Serbian goalie Vanja Milinkovic-Savic in the 63rd minute.
Luis Chavez vs. Saudi Arabia
Chavez scored one of the best free kicks of the World Cup when he found the net in the 52nd minute of Mexico’s 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in a group stage match Nov. 30 in Lusail.
Mexico led 1-0 when Chavez struck the ball while about 25 yards away from the goal. The left-footed rip flew over a wall of defenders, spun from left to right and found the right side of the net, beating Saudi goalie Mohammed Alowais into the top corner.
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Kylian Mbappe vs. Poland
Mbappe scored twice in France’s 3-1 win over Poland in the Round of 16 on Dec. 4 in Doha. His second score came in stoppage time.
Fellow forward Marcus Thuram handled the ball on the left flank and touched the ball off to Mbappe to spark that score. Mbappe received the ball in the box and touched the ball to his right. He then bent a beautiful shot from right to left. The ball appeared to be going wide, before it dipped inside the right post and beat Poland goalie Wojciech Szczesny.
Olivier Giroud vs. England
Giroud helped lift France into the World Cup semifinals with a go-ahead score in a 2-1 win over England in the quarterfinals Saturday in Al Khor.
France and England were tied at 1-1 before Giroud netted the strike in the 78th minute. Attacking midfielder Antoine Griezman lifted a cross from the left side to setup that score. The feed dropped into the box as Giroud sprinted into a crowd of defender.
The veteran forward managed to out-jump the defenders and put a header just inside the near post, beating England goalie Jordan Pickford.
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Enzo Fernandez vs. Mexico
Fernandez helped lift Argentina to a group stage win over Mexico with a 87th minute score in that 2-0 victory Nov. 26 in Lusail.
Lionel Messi gave Argentina a 1-0 lead with a score in the 64th minute. The Argentine star then assisted Fernandez for the final goal about 20 minute later.
Messi received a feed from the left corner to start that play. He then slid a pass to his right, finding Fernandez. The Argentine midfielder faced up a defender and cleared space with a crossover dribble. He then used his right foot to shape a powerful shot into the right side of the net.
Nahuel Molina vs. Netherlands
Messi went on to provide one of the most spectacular assists of the tournament in Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands in the quarterfinals Friday in Lusail.
Argentina and the Netherlands were scoreless through the majority of the first half when Messi linked up with right back Nahuel Molina in the 35th minute.
Messi was nearly at midfield when he received a pass on that possession. He did a quick dribble move to escape one defender before he brought his dribble forward, going from right to left.
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Messi then stopped his dribble and did a vicious cut with his left foot, hitting the ball through a very narrow alley between several Dutch defenders.
The precise pass landed on Molina’s boot as he ran through the box. Molina finished the play with a shot into the far-post netting, beating Dutch goalie Andries Noppert.
Messi gave Argentina a 2-0 lead with a 73rd minute penalty kick. The Netherlands then scored twice in the final minutes of regulation to force extra time. Argentina went on to edge the Netherlands 4-3 in penalties.
Salem Al-Dawsari vs. Argentina
Al-Dawsari sparked one of the earliest upsets of the World Cup when he scored the game-winning goal for Saudi Arabia against Argentina in a group stage match Nov. 22 in Lusail.
Messi gave Argentina a 1-0 lead with a 10th-minute penalty kick before the Saudis scored twice in the second half. Saudi striker Saleh Al-Shehri equalized in the 48th minute. Al-Dawsari followed with his go-ahead score about five minutes later.
Argentina’s defense denied an initial Saudi attempt during that sequence. Al-Dawsari then recovered a loose ball, which sailed high above the box and landed at his feet. He tapped the ball between three defenders and used an outside-the-foot touch to find a gap in the traffic.
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He then used his right foot to bend a shot into the far-post netting, beating Argentine goalie Emiliano Martinez.
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