World Cup Celebrations: Moments of Joy at the World Cup

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.

Most Memorable World Cup Celebrations. Footballers spend a lot of time practising their goalscoring skills.

Julius Aghahowa is a professional football player. He is famous for his acrobatic backflip during World Cup celebrations. In 2002 World cup, Nigeria didn't win a game, but they won their only point against England.

Colombia beat Senegal 1-0 to advance to the knockout stages of the World Cup. The team celebrated by dancing. The Colombian commentators are also expressive. They show their appreciation for the team's performance.

Bebeto's cradle celebration was adopted worldwide after he celebrated Brazil's second goal in their quarter-final 3 – 2 win against the Netherlands in 1994. He was celebrating his new fatherhood.

Antonio Griezmann celebrated the 2018 World Cup final goal against Croatia with a 'Fortnite loser dance' that led to accusations of him disrespecting their opponents. The player didn't run to the corner flag but faced the fans closer to goalpost and jumped with one leg after the other. Parisians went ahead to win the match 4 – 2.

Fabio Grosso scored the winning goal in the 119th minute of extra time as Italy beat Germany 2-0 in World Cup 2006 semi-final. Gross was the least-known player in Italy's golden generation squad.

Brian Laudrup celebrated his second goal in the 1998 World Cup quarter-final between Brazil and Denmark. The celebration was inspired by his son. Denmark lost the match 3 – 2. The game was played in France.

Senegal won the 2002 World Cup against France and danced their way through to the quarterfinals. They lost the match to Turkey. They performed a highly choreographed routine. It is one of the best World Cups celebrations.

Roger Milla is one of the most iconic players to have ever graced the World Cup. He is the oldest outfield player to play in the competition in 1994 and the second oldest player in 2014 and 2018. In 1990, he came out of retirement to join Les Lions Indomitable and he helped them reach the quarter-finals.

Rashidi Yekini scored Nigeria's first World Cup goal in 1994. Nigeria won 3-0 against Bulgaria. The celebration of the goal was extravagant. i.e. he grabbed the net and let out a sustained roar.

Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the opening goal for South Africa in the 2010 World Cup. Peter Drury was the commentator on that day. The fans in FNB Stadium were entertained by the South African team who rocked the macarena dance at the corner flag. This year's World Cups starts on November 21, 2022.