World Cup Celebrations: The Moments of Joy

by , 11 October 2022

In the latest instalment of our World Cup blog, we look back at some of the best-ever celebrations players have made after scoring a goal for their country. From the extravagant to the simple, we recap some of the best moments in football.

The crowd celebrating a goal

Most Memorable Celebrations In The World Cup

Not only do footballer players spend a lot of time practising their goalscoring skills, but many also put a lot of thought and effort into how they will celebrate should they score on the pitch. Some prefer a solitary celebration, while others involve the whole team. Join us as we share some of our favourite World Cup celebrations.

World Cup Celebrations – Julius Aghahowa’s Acrobatic Talent

Julius Aghahowa is a Nigerian professional football player and is primarily famous because of his acrobatic backflip during World Cup celebrations.

In the 2002 World Cup, Nigeria failed to win a single game, losing against Argentina 1 – 0 in the opening match, 2 – 1 to Sweden in the second, and winning their only point in a goalless draw against England.

The Super Eagles’ lone goal in the competition was scored by Aghahowa, who went crazy with the celebration. The celebration was the iconic moment for Nigerian fans to take home after the World Cup, and Aghahowa milked it and is still reminded about it, even to this day.

World Cup Celebrations – Colombia Dance To The Knockout Phase

The Columbians scored some great goals, and the South Americans also knew how to celebrate energetically, showing their moves on the pitch and lighting up the 2014 and 2018 competitions. They were the favourites in most games against their opposition, but they didn’t contain their excitement when they overcame Senegal 1 – 0 to proceed to the knockout stages.

The Colombian players joined hands and acted as if they were subjected to an electric shock moving from one player to the next, generated from the corner flag. It was a deserving celebration for making it to two consecutive knockout faces featuring one of the most expressive teams in the competition that wasn’t shy to give the fans a good show.

The Columbian commentators are also an expressive bunch, as seen in this clip.

World Cup Celebrations – Bebeto’s Legendary Cradle Celebration

There have been many World Cup celebrations, but few have been copied as much as Bebeto’s legendary cradle celebration. The Brazilian attacker set the trend for footballing fathers to express their joy of being new fathers after scoring goals.

In 1994, the stage was set in the USA, with Brazil the favourites going all the way to win the competition.

Bebeto, among the key players for Brazil in the successful campaign, celebrated Brazil’s second goal in their quarter-final 3 – 2 win against the Netherlands, charging to the touchline and rocking his arms in cradle motion. Like you will do to a baby born to soothe them, the celebration would be adopted worldwide.

World Cup Celebrations – Griezmann Fortnite Dance

Antonio Griezmann celebrated the 2018 final goal against Croatia with a ‘Fortnite loser dance’ that led to accusations of him disrespecting their opponents. Fortnite, as you will undoubtedly know, is a “battle royale” style third-person shooter that is incredibly popular, especially with younger audiences and can be played on computers, consoles and mobile devices.

In a highly intensive final, with high emotions that made the moment more controversial, Griezmann converted the VAR-awarded penalty and rubbed salt into Croatia’s fans wounds by enjoying a celebration dance. The player didn’t run to the corner flag but faced the fans closer to the goalpost, put his fingers in an L-shape, and repeatedly jumped with one leg after the other.

The Parisians went ahead to win the match 4 – 2, with the celebration much talked about despite Griezmann, who is a soft-spoken fellow and not the aggressive type to trigger a confrontation. His teammates loved it, and the striker would repeat the feat while playing against Arsenal for Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-final. In the Premier League, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli also showed off moves from the game.

World Cup Celebrations – Grosso World Cup Semi-Final

Italy played Germany in the semi-final of the 2006 World Cup. The hard-fought game was level and had to go to extra time when Italy got the breakthrough in the 119 minute from Fabio Grosso. Grosso was the least-known player in the golden generation Italian squad that clinched the 2006 edition of the trophy with big names such as Andrea Pirlo, Francesco Totti, and Luca Toni, and was playing in the left-back position. Nevertheless, he became their hero with a first-time curling finish, and he was delighted as he was surprised, celebrating while shaking his head, expressing his disbelief at the goal.

Remarkably, Italy won 2 – 0, with Del Piero scoring in the game’s final minute.

World Cup Celebrations – “Chilled” Laudrup for Denmark v Brazil

The 1998 edition of the World Cup in France saw Brazil go to the finals to lose 3 – 0 to the hosts. In the quarter-final, the South Americans survived a real scare against Denmark, who looked determined to end the footballing powerhouse’s tournament.

Brian Laudrup scored a thunderbolt second goal, sending the game to a 2 – 2 scoreline. However, the way he marked the occasion ranks as one of the best World Cup celebrations. After running away from the goal, the Danish legend slid across the grass and laid down, resting his head on his hand as if to say “easy does it”.

The idea of the celebration came from his son, who didn’t want him to mock the opponent, but instead show how chilled he was about getting the job done. Denmark lost the match 3 – 2 but gave a good fight and enjoyed every moment of it.

World Cup Celebrations – Senegal Danced Through the 2002 World Cup

World Cup debutants graced the 2002 World Cup with excellence and flair dancing their way through to the Quarterfinals of the competition, losing 1 – 0 to Turkey.

They started their campaign against the reigning champions, France, and shocked the footballing world by winning that game 1-0. What followed was a highly choreographed routine that goes down in the history books as one of the best World Cup celebrations. The dance was so contagious and uniform that you would think that was all they did in their training ground.

It’s hard not to smile while watching. You can understand why the underdogs were not even expected to qualify from the group stage and were so excited when they scored, changing gears from the goalscorer’s solo dance to the whole team dancing at the corner flag.

World Cup Celebrations – Roger Milla’s Snake Hips

Roger Milla is one of the most iconic players to have ever graced the World Cup and holds the record for the oldest outfield player (42 years, 39days) to play in the competition in 1994 and the oldest player to score a goal.

However, goalkeepers broke his record for the oldest player twice in the 2014 and 2018 editions.

Nevertheless, he hasn’t been forgotten, especially for his heroics in the 1990 edition after the Cameroonian President requested for him to come out of retirement to join Les Lions Indomitable.

The veteran caught the world’s attention with his goal and corner flag celebration. He sprinted to the corner flag and seemingly danced alongside the corner flag with one hand in the air and the other on the waist; wiggling his hips and shimmy of his foot was very appealing to the fans.

As a result, the African star lead his side to the quarter-finals, becoming the first side from the continent to achieve this.

World Cup Celebrations – Rashidi Yekini Scores Nigeria’s First Goal

Some World Cup goal celebrations are complex affairs, highly choreographed and take weeks of thought and planning. Others, such as Rashidi Yekini’s in the 1994 World Cup, are much more spontaneous but just as iconic.

Nigeria was playing in their first-ever World Cup competition and was facing Bulgaria. They won 3 – 0, but their first goal was much discussed. The goal itself was not that special, just a regular tap-in from close range, but as we have seen throughout the article, every moment is celebrated extravagantly.

Yekini’s momentum in the build-up to the goal took him into the goal, and he grabbed the net to ease his inertia before letting out a sustained roar that appeared to go on for a long time, maybe even recorded by satellites. It felt amusing and also showed how important the goal was from the emotion he displayed.

World Cup Celebrations – Tshabalala’s Macarena celebration

Our top pick is South Africa’s Siphiwe Tshabalala when Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup.

The whole continent rallied behind the host in front of a fully packed FNB Stadium in the competition’s opening game. The strike was a powerful shot from a counter-attack for the tournament’s opening goal.

The icing on the cake is that poetic commentator Peter Drury was the man behind the mike on that day with the famous quote, ‘goal for South Africa, a goal for Africa’.

The fans in the stadium were entertained by the South African team, who rocked the macarena dance at the corner flag.

This year’s tournament starts on November 21, 2022 and don’t forget you can find out all you need to know about World Cup betting on our dedicated page. Join us once the tournament starts for betting tips and match previews.

Megan Rapinoe Wins The Golden Boot

In the 2019 Women’s World Cup final, Megan Rapinoe bagged 2 goals against the Netherlands to help the US win the cup, and cemented her place as a true great in the game, winning the Golden Boot in the process:

Rapinoe had initially retired from football, but came out of retirement as she wants to win one last World Cup before hanging up her boots forever. Who do you think will win the Women’s World Cup in 2023? Check out our guide to the best Women’s World Cup betting sites to help pick a winner!

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