Top 5 Brazil World Cup Goals

I guess no one is really interested in the World Cup now England have blown it but I'd already knocked this one up before the miserable debacle against Germany last Sunday. It does at least remind us how the game should be played. The BBC kind of beat me to the punch with their own top 5 but I've got a few alternatives.

1. Carlos Alberto v Italy (1970) - I've written about this one already. Lovely patient build up with an exquisite finish.



2. Pele v Sweden (1958) - Pele was only 17 when he scored this fabulous goal against the host nation.



3. Socrates v Soviet Union (1982) - The Russian's must have felt a little hard done by losing to two incredible finishes, this wonder strike from Socrates and an equally impressive effort from Eder.



4. Jairzinho v England (1970) - Similarities to the Carlos Alberto goal. Slick passing spreads the ball across the pitch before a cross finds Pele in the box, who controls and passes in one movement. Jairzinho then smashes it home.



5. Josimar v Northern Ireland (1986) - An thwack from the right hand corner of the box scorches into the top left corner. Josimar's celebration suggests he might not have expected it to go in.



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Top 5 England World Cup Goals

Well they put us through the ringer again but England finally found their form and made it through to the knockout stages. In celebration of that, and to get us in the mood for the forthcoming game against Germany, here are my top 5 England World Cup goals.

1. Michael Owen v Argentina (1998) - Little Michael Owen sets the nation on fire with this jinking run and quality finish. My 30th birthday forever marked by this moment of brilliance and another departure on penalties.



2. David Platt v Belgium (1990) - Wonderful turn and volley to clinch victory in the dying seconds.



3. Gary Lineker v Poland (1986) - Gary notched a hatrick in this game to put us through after two poor opening performances (sounds familiar!). Either of the first two would be worthy of inclusion but the quick and accurate passing makes the first goal my favourite.



4. Geoff Hurst v West Germany (1966) - Some people are on the pitch! Sir Geoff's third goal to confirm England's one and only World Cup triumph.



5. Joe Cole v Sweden (2006) - Joe Cole lights up an otherwise dull encounter with this remarkable effort. Hmm. That kid can play a bit guess he ought to be in the starting eleven!!



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Top 5 World Cup Goals

This is quite a hefty topic and I have to own up to relying on the BBC website's top ten goals from every World Cup since 1966 to remind me of the details. It also became quickly apparent that if I wasn't careful this could be a list of Brazilian wonder strikes. To help me narrow down my options I limited myself to one goal per World Cup and one goal per nation. There's also one very obvious omission which I'll justify at the end.

1. Carlos Alberto (Brazil v Italy) 1970 - This has long been my favourite World Cup goal. I was too young to watch this as it happened but grew up on the highlights that showed how brilliant that Brazilian side was. This was a wonderful team goal with a bit of simple genius from Pele and a perfect finish from Carlos.



2. Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands v Argentina) 1998 - An underrated gem. Bergkamp is one of my all time favourite players and this is the perfect example of his sublime skill. A long ball from Frank de Boer which Bergkamp controls with his toe. A flick inside between the legs of the Argentinian defender and a finish with the outside of the boot into the far corner of the net. Oh and it won the Quarter Final in the 90th minute.



3. Archie Gemmill (Scotland v Netherlands) 1978 - The Dutch were a very good side who went on to reach the final. Scotland had lost 3-1 to Peru then drawn 1-1 with Iran. Collecting a loose ball, Gemmill skipped past one defender, cut inside a second, nudged the ball past a third before firing home past an out rushing 'keeper. Persistence, control, composure and a great finish. Better than Maradonna.



4. David Platt (England v Belgium) 1990 - Were it not for Dennis Bergkamp I might have been talking about Michael Owen here but this goal is one I have a very special place in my heart for. The point when I became an England fan, the moment that got me back into football after a 3 year sabbatical. Gazza's chipped free kick found Platt in the box who somehow twisted his body to complete an over the shoulder volley that won us the game in extra time. Bobby Robson's little jig by the dugout makes me smile whenever I see it.



5. Marco Tardelli (Italy v W.Germany) 1982 - '82 was a great World Cup, once England were out of the way. This wasn't the best goal scored in it, Socrates for Brazil against USSR or Boniek for Poland against Belgium, but the celebration afterwards earns it a place in my top five.



So, no Maradona from 1986 against England. I've always felt that goal was overrated. It is a great run but I can't help thinking it's aided by some dreadful England defending. Terry Fenwick, what were you doing? I also like the ball to look good hitting the net and Terry Butcher's sliding challenge seems to force Maradona's foot to fire the ball home. Sour grapes maybe but not a top 5 goal for me.

Top 5 Fulham Goals

My memory for the details of games is actually shocking so there could well be some great goals I saw that I just don't remember. Kamara's overhead kick to equalise against Spurs is a recent contender, Louis Saha's against Newcastle another, and Sean O'Driscoll's goal direct from a corner against Newport County also memorable. However, I reckon the fact this lot have stuck in my head so firmly means they're worthy entrants. As always your welcome to add your own selection in the comments, that's the beauty of Top 5 lists, they're not supposed to be definitive just your favourite choices.

1. Gordon Davies from the left wing against Chesterfield (30th Jan 1982)

2. Simon Morgan header against Villa in Cup (23rd Jan 1999)

3. Rodney MacAree at Carlisle (5th April 1997)

4. "Super" Mick Conroy from the half way line at Wycombe (12th August 1997)

5. Kevin Moore equaliser against Walsall (13th August 1994)

I must have seen Gordon Davies score a hundred goals but I can't actually remember many of them. I guess Ivor was more of a "fox in the box" than a 40 yard man. This one has never left me though. A hoofed clearance from Roger Brown was latched onto by our Ivor who then shot from somewhere near the Stevenage Road byline right in front of the Cottage. It probably wasn't as far out as my memory would have me believe, but it was certainly not an angle from where you'd expect anyone to score. It shot past the Chesterfield 'keeper though and hit the back of the net, 1-0 Fulham, game over! A glorious goal.

The trip up to Villa Park for this 4th round F.A. Cup match was probably my first trip to a big ground with Fulham. I remember being stunned at how big the Holt End was and never believed we would get away with a win. Eight minutes in though and Simon Morgan rose to head home a Stevie Hayward free kick. I don't think I've ever seen Morgs get up so high and it was a real bullet header into the back of the net. Amazingly we went on to put in a really solid performance and after Stevie H had added a second just before half time, managed to defend our lead against the team that were then top of the Premier League.

OK, I have to admit I'm breaking my own rules here. I wasn't at Carlisle. I was with the three other guys I regular go to the football with at a mates stag do in London. None of us were best pleased with the timing but there was no choice to make. We bundled into a pub to try and catch news of the game and find out the Grand National result. The National had been cancelled but when news came through that we'd won 2-1 we were ecstatic. I couldn't have a top 5 list that didn't include this wonder volley from McAree, probably the most important goal in the history of the club so far. "Who put the ball in the Carlisle net? Rodney McAree!"

It was a first round league cup match, but Wycombe wasn't too far away and ground we'd never been to before. There'd been some chaos getting into the ground at the start and we'd ended up down the side in with a mixture of Fulham and Wycombe fans. Half the Fulham squad, including Kit Symons, were sitting behind us as well. It was a quiet sort of game, we weren't expecting too much as the teams trooped off at half time with the scores tied at 1-1. Then it happened. "Super" Mick Conroy controlled the ball in the centre circle, and then shot. "What the hell are you do ...? Oh my G ... GOOOOOAAALLLLLLLLL!!!". An unbelievable strike, I never thought it was likely to be even close but back then "Super" Mick could do no wrong. It wasn't quite from the half way line but it was near as damn it, and why should we let the facts get in the way of a good song.

My final choice is unlikely to be a goal many people remember. It was our first home match in the basement division, I had taken a philosophical view to relegation the previous season believing we could waltz the league title and re-establish ourselves once again. However, the stark reality of live at the bottom did not take long to hit home. The game was a fairly even affair but Walsall had taken the lead in the first half through Kyle Lightbourne. Attacking the Hammy End in the second half we just couldn't quite find the cutting edge to pull one back, until, in the final minutes, new signing Kevin Moore rose to head home a corner. I celebrated this goal like no other, the emotion of relegation and 15 years of steady decline had built up to the point where I actually shed tears of joy. Of course in the end it would get worse before it got better, but right then it seemed that we had finally turned the corner.