A sprinkling of goal dust
Argentina’s 6-0 demolition of Serbia & Montenegro was stunning – even if the vanquished lived up to their initials, if nothing else, by making things harder for themselves through losing a man to a red card. But, by then, Argentina were already home and dry, in the process crafting what was unquestionably one of the greatest World Cup goals ever.
How appropriate that their country’s most famous son was in the stand to celebrate like a proper, demented fan. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that Maradona scored the greatest solo goal ever at this level, when the feet of God ran rings around England in Mexico in 1986. But, equally beyond dispute, the greatest team goal scored in a World Cup was Brazil’s coup de grace against Italy in the fantastic final of 1970. You remember it well, of course: a series of feints and dribbles and passes which began deep in the Brazilian half and reached its climax when captain Carlos Alberto ran onto Pele’s almost nonchalant sideways pass and, without even having to break his galloping stride, swept the ball low and hard to the corner of the Italian net. 4-1 to Brazil, and football was going home again.
