Top 12 Goals of the Second Week

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1. Cristian Riveros's goal in the 86th minute sealed the deal for Paraguay in its 2-0 win over Slovakia in their June 20 match. He took the ball to
his left in traffic then blasted it from the top of the 18 through three Slovakian defenders and into the back of the net. Luca Bruno/AP
2. Luis Fabiano's goal for Brazil in its June 20 match against Ivory Coast ended a three-game scoreless streak for the Sevilla striker. Much of the
credit goes to Kaka, who pinched the ball between two defenders to Fabiano, who took a clear look at the goal before a right-footed blast to the upper half of the net in the 25th minute. Brazil won, 3-1. Matt Dunham/AP
3. Landon Donovan, America's first legitimate soccer superstar, earned the title in the June 18 match against Slovenia. At the end of a fast break,
Donovan found himself with no one to pass it to in the middle and a terrible angle for a shot. What to do? Dribble inside? Nutmeg the keeper? Nope.
Donovan blast it at the goalkeeper’s head from point blank range. It was the start of a memorable comeback. Luca Bruno/AP
4. 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. Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP
5. Chile's 1-0 win over Switzerland came from head of Mark Gonzalez. He lined up a beautiful cross from Esteban Paredes, jumped high, and gave it a
strong downward header. The ball bounced off the ground, over the defender, and into the upper left corner of the goal. Hassan Ammar/AP
6. Diego Forlan put incredible topspin on the new – and controversial – Adidas-designed soccer ball in his goal for Uruguay on June 16. It soared over a South African defenseman and the keeper before sinking just enough to hit the bottom of the crossbar and spin down the net. Uruguay won, 3-0. Guillermo Arias/AP
7. Kalu Uche drew first blood in Nigeria's June 22 match against South Korea with a goal in the 12th minute. Chidi Odiah broke free of his defender to
send the ball to the middle of the field, and Uche lunged forward just enough to get the inside of his cleat on the ball, deflecting it into the
net. Uche celebrated by running straight to the corner, sticking out his tongue, and weakly flapping his arms, looking more like a chickadee than a Super Eagle. But it wasn’t enough to get Nigeria into the second round. Lee Jae-Won/Reuters
8. South Korea's Park Chu-Young curled a free kick around the Nigerian wall, inside the goalpost and just past the outstretched hand of goalkeeper
Vincent Enyeama. The penalty kick in the 49th minute of the June 22 match gave the Koreans enough points to pass to the second round. Lee Jae-Won/Reuters
9. In injury time, Landon Donovan scored the sole goal in USA's June 23 match against Algeria. (Two USA goals made our best-of list? Well what do
you expect from a US publication!) With three minutes remaining, the US needed a goal or else it was going home. Donovan dribbled up the middle,
passed right to Clint Dempsey, who passed back to Edson Buddle in the middle. Buddle tripped over Algeria goalkeeper Rais Bolhi as he blocked the
shot, but he lost control of the ball, and Donovan was sprinting toward it with all US hopes pushing him forward. He grounded it into the left side of the net. "Time kind of stopped," the feisty midfielder said afterward. Elise Amendola/AP
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
11. Kamil Kopunek came off Slovakia's bench to finish off defending champion Italy in the 89th minute of their June 24 match. The substitute sprinted
toward a bouncing ball and volleyed a delicate chip over the goalkeeper’s head. It brought the score to 3-1. Italy cried. Kai Pfaffenbach/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
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Top 12 Goals of the Second Week

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