The 7 goals of World Cup Day 9, ranked

There was not a bad goal in the bunch today.

Every day here at the World Cup, we look back on the goals of the day and rank them to our choosing. We are the goal tastemakers, you see, and we want to pass along our taste in wonderful goals.

Usually we have to kind of cobble together a list, as this World Cup has featured plenty of own goals and penalty kicks. None of that cobbling today. Today there were just beautiful goals. Let’s rank them.

7. Neymar’s dagger vs. Costa Rica

It took 91 minutes for Brazil to break their deadlock with Costa Rica, and just six minutes for them to double their lead. Both happened in added time, and while this is a tidy bit of play that results in a Neymar finish (and a goal it sure looked like he needed), Costa Rica was throwing men forward at that point and not defending as they should have been. Still, any other day this would be a great goal. It’s just today was all great goals.

6. Coutinho’s breakthrough vs. Costa Rica

Yes, both Brazil goals are at the end of our list, but really, when all the goals are brilliant, as they were today, someone has to pay the price. This isn’t to knock on Coutinho, who did wonderfully to snap into the box and get his toe on the end of a bit of great play from Brazil. But, well, just wait until you see the rest of these goals.

5. Mitrovic’s snap header vs. Switzerland

This is the World Cup of the Absolute Units, and Aleksandar Mitrovic is absolutely one of them. The cross in is great, but Mitrovic elevating and then generating the power to send that ball in the net is just ridiculous. What a wonderful goal.

4. Ahmed Musa’s second vs. Iceland

Look at the freaking pace of Musa here to not only beat his man down the wing, but to cut it in front of him, dance around the goalie, and finish calmly. Iceland had to commit men forward when they went down a goal, and as soon as they did that, it was over for them. They didn’t have anyone who could stay with Musa.

3. Shaqiri’s breakaway and tidy finish vs. Serbia

Our beautiful, squat, brawny boy did it. I have no idea why that Serbian defender was trying to set an offside trap on his own half of the field, as such a thing is impossible to do, but don’t discount how Shaqiri still took his chance here ... holding off the defender, goading the goalie out, then finishing beautifully.

2. Musa’s beautiful first touch and finish vs. Iceland

This first touch is absolutely ridiculous. Who takes a first touch like that in that space, with that pressure on, from that ball? Wild. Absolutely wild.

1. Xhaka’s bomb vs. Serbia

I already wrote a bit about this goal, but just to reiterate.

1. He crushed it.
2. Ivanovic was smart to duck out of the way, because he was going to lose his head if he didn’t.

That’s a great group of goals right there. Let’s hope we get a lot more like them tomorrow.