In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/16
In Pictures: Dazzle like Beckham
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/15
In Pictures: Duchess Kate's royal baby bump
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/14
In Pictures: Keffiyeh is rebel chic
Uruguay’s Diego Forlan earns our Top Goal honors not just by virtue of his performance in this entire World Cup (he earned the Golden Ball award for most valuable player), but also for the sheer merit his gem of a goal in the third-place face-off with Germany on July 10. Shortly into the second half, Forlan gave Uruguay the lead with a side volley to make your jaw drop. A center pass came too high in the air to dribble, but too low to head. Never one to muck about, Forlan cracked it right out of the air and down with perfect technique. The ball bounced in the box, slipped off the wet grass and into the net.
Argentina’s Carlos Tevez earned the No. 2 spot with his second goal against Mexico in the quarterfinal. The Manchester City striker made good on a rebound that he squibbed into the legs of two Mexican defenders by blasting a curling rocket into the top right corner. Henry Romero/Reuters
Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s rifle to the upper 90 in the July 6 semifinal against Uruguay takes the No. 3 slot. Somehow, Van Bronckhorst saw an opening from way downtown on the left flank and pulled the trigger from nearly 40 yards out to give the Netherlands a strong start in the 18th minute.
Stunning. Wonderful. Beautiful. German Mesut Özil's left-foot, game-winning shot against Ghana on June 23 was a model of style and professionalism. In the 60th minute he received a pass, and caught it on the bounce, and drove it over three Ghanaian defenders and their keeper. Germany won, 1-0, but both teams advanced to the second round. Ina Fassbender/Reuters
Fabio Quagliarella nearly brought Italy back from the dead in their June 24 match, scoring in injury time to bring his team within one goal of Slovakia. This goal was all about touch. From the top of the 18, he floated in a medium-strength shot into the upper 90. It was not enough to mount a comeback for the defending champions, however. Moments later, Italy crashed out of the tournament. Stefano Rellandini/Reuters
Siphiwe Tshabalala’s score for South Africa in their June 11 opening match against Mexico blasted across the goalmouth and into the upper corner. It sparked a Macarena-like dance near the corner flag in front of the home crowd at Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium and inspired Archbishop Desmond Tutu to do a little jig in the stands.
Gabriel Heinze is the least-noted of Argentina’s stars. But in the sixth minute of the June 12 game against Nigeria, Heinze headed the ball just below the crossbar, giving the perennial World Cup favorite a 1-0 win. "I saw the cross coming and I didn't hesitate about using my forehead," he said afterward.
With 30 seconds remaining in the June 16 match against Slovakia, New Zealander Winston Reid headed a goal in injury time to tie the match. The 93rd-minute goal gave New Zealand its first non-loss ever in the World Cup. In the excitement he pulled off his shirt, which earned him a yellow card. "That was the most important goal of my life," he said afterward.
It wasn’t the prettiest goal of the World Cup, but Spain’s Andrés Iniesta did make history by scoring the only goal of the championship match against the Netherlands with a professional finish on a volley many top players would have flubbed in the circumstances. He ripped off his shirt and ran to the corner with Spain’s other players to celebrate their first-ever World Cup victory.
David Villa scored two goals for Spain’s 2-0 win over Honduras. His first was perhaps the most beautiful offensive attack yet of the 2010 World Cup. Villa’s slashing run to the box in the 17th minute left three defenders in the dust. His sliding kick sent the ball between two Hondurans and past the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand.
In Pictures: Derby Day devotees, Kenyan style
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/16
In Pictures: Dazzle like Beckham
In Pictures: Weather extremes 2013
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/15
In Pictures: Duchess Kate's royal baby bump
Photos of the Day: Photos of the day 05/14
In Pictures: Keffiyeh is rebel chic
With Ukraine and Poland preparing to host the Euro 2012 soccer championship, Europe sees it as an opportune time to pressure Ukraine over its treatment of opposition figure Yulia Tymoshenko.
It is only a month from now that Ukraine and Poland will host Europe’s greatest sports event, the Euro 2012 soccer championship, but the relations between the political leaders in Kiev and their European counterparts could hardly be worse. The reason for the fallout? Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
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