From Diego Maradona’s spellbinding solo effort against England at Mexico 1986 to the James Rodriguez thunderbolt which lit up Brazil 2014, the FIFA World Cup™ has consistently delivered awe-inspiring individual goals which will go down in football lore.
There have also been many examples of slick interchanges resulting in exceptional team goals, with Carlos Alberto’s strike in Brazil’s 1970 final triumph over Italy viewed by many as the pinnacle in this category.
While perhaps not quite as aesthetically pleasing as that feat of Brazilian brilliance, Jack Grealish’s tap-in to round off an impressive England sequence at Qatar 2022 set a new World Cup record.
When he slotted home in the 90th minute of a group-stage trouncing of IR Iran, Grealish applied the finishing touch to a move that involved 35 passes – the most leading to a goal in the competition’s history.
Every England player on the pitch played a part in the build-up, including goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, with Jude Bellingham the most involved, making nine of the passes.
The move started with Declan Rice taking a short free-kick to Bellingham and the Three Lions, by then 5-1 up and cruising, proceeded to calmly recycle possession for more than a minute. It was a typically incisive ball from centre-back John Stones which quickened the pace, with Marcus Rashford then finding Bellingham with a sumptuous flick. The midfield ace set Callum Wilson running clear at goal with a perfectly weighted pass, and the striker unselfishly squared for Grealish to slide in England’s sixth goal.
England had kicked off their Qatar 2022 campaign in style – and made a slice of World Cup history in the process.
