Over the span of 92 years and 21 tournaments, the World Cup has had so many memorable moments.
So every day until Qatar 2022, which will air exclusively on FOX networks starting Nov. 20, Jenny Taft and Doug McIntyre are counting down the 101 most memorable moments in World Cup history. Find out where your favorite moment ended up on our countdown.
Lionel Messi showed Nigeria goalkeeper Francis Uzoho that his right foot is just as lethal as his left, and reminded the world why he’s considered by many as the greatest of all time.
100: Wynalda’s colossal curler
It would have been hard for Eric Wynalda to place his free kick more perfectly than he did; it helped that it came at the perfect time, too.
Eric Wynalda’s free kick
The USMNT’s deepest World Cup run was made by possible by Wyndala’s wonder strike.
Long before he coached the United States men’s national team at the 2014 World Cup, Jürgen Klinsmann scored a ton of goals for Germany, including this stunner against South Korea.
South Korea’s defenders didn’t know what to do when Cuauhtémoc Blanco broke out the Cuauhtemiña at the 1998 World Cup.
A no-look scoop pass over the top of the defense with the outside of the boot? Michael Laudrup didn’t play fair.
Michael Laudrup’s assist
Ebbe Sand was on the receiving end of one of the greatest assists in World Cup history.
José Luis Chilavert didn’t convert his free kick against Bulgaria at the 1998 World Cup, but he came as close as any keeper has since.
Who do you think appreciated the support of Japan’s fans more in 2018: Japan’s men’s national team or the stadium staff in Russia?
Japanese fans take fandom to the next level
These Japanese fans did their part to keep the stadium clean.
94: Oh my, Oliseh
The power and precision of Sunday Oliseh’s shot stunned the Spanish giants of 1998. I mean, how do you stop that?
93: Matthäus’ individual brilliance
Yugoslavia paid the price of giving Lothar Matthäus ample space to operate in the midfield, and his German teammates watched him collect.
Matthäus’ run and rocket
Matthäus’ long-range effort was one of his two impressive goals in Germany’s 4-1 victory.
92: El Tri tops Die Mannschaft
Mexico’s fans were hoping for a draw against Germany; what they got was arguably El Tri’s most surprising result on the World Cup stage.
It’s safe to say this would have landed higher on our countdown had Pelé stuck the landing.
West Germany were the favorites to repeat as world champions in 1994 … until Yordan Letchkov decided they weren’t.
Letchkov’s header stuns Germany
Yordan Letchkov’s goal completed Bulgaria’s unlikely win against Germany.
89: No era penal
This one’s pretty self-explanatory for Mexico fans: It wasn’t a penalty.
Mexico’s battle cry
Arjen Robben drew a controversial foul call in the box and then the Netherlands scored on a penalty kick.
In 1994, Brazil’s Bebeto gave his newborn son the best birthday present ever: a celebration at the World Cup.
Bebeto’s birthday gift
Brazil’s Bebeto scores against the Netherlands and celebrates by rocking the baby for the birth of this newborn child.
87. First goal wins
There have been two golden goals in World Cup history; Laurent Blanc’s sent his team to the quarterfinals, where they’d win en route to their first-ever World Cup trophy.
First golden goal
French defender Laurent Blanc scored the first golden goal to eliminate Paraguay in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Pelé’s Brazil teams are the most famous to win back-to-back World Cups, but they weren’t the first.
85. Salenko’s five-goal frenzy
Oleg Salenko already had the golden boot secured when Russia were eliminated in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup.
Salenko bags five goals
Russia’s Salenko scores five goals against Cameroon in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Tim Howard did everything he could to save the United States from elimination at the 2014 World Cup, and his record-setting performance in the USMNT’s loss to Belgium earned him the nickname “Secretary of Defense.”
Hungary showed no mercy for El Salvador in their record-setting 10-1 win at the 1982 World Cup.
Hungary embarrass El Salvador
Hungary scored 10 goals against El Salvador, making it the most lopsided result in World Cup History.
82. USMNT robbed of semifinals
The United States men’s team would have had a fair chance of making their first World Cup semifinal appearance since 1930 had it not been for a missed call.
81. England come back in extra time
Cameroon nearly became the first African men’s team to advance to a World Cup semifinal, but they couldn’t stop England’s comeback.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst went from uncertain roster selection to national hero at the 2010 World Cup.
South Korea’s win over Germany wasn’t enough to push them through to the knockout stage, but it did eliminate the then-reigning champions of the world.
England’s misfortune with penalty shootouts took a brief break at the 2018 World Cup.
Although Iran beat the United States on the pitch, their gesture was the talking point of the game after the final whistle.
Just Fontaine scored 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup, as many as the last two World Cup Golden Boot winners scored combined.
How did the sideline referee miss this one?
Rivaldo’s acting results in red card
Brazil’s Rivaldo was seen flopping, but it was Turkey’s Ünsal that got the red card.
With the flick of his neck, Robin Van Persie helped the Netherlands get a consolation prize against Spain, who beat them in the 2010 World Cup Final.
Even when Maradona wasn’t scoring, he controlled the tempo of the match.
Maradonna and Caniggia send Brazil packing
Argentina sent Brazil home after Maradonna and Caniggia connected for a goal late in the match.
Josip Šimunić was able to stay on the pitch after his second yellow due to a mental lapse by the referee.
One, two, three yellow cards
Josip Šimunić was famously awarded three yellow cards when Croatia took on Australia in 2006.
71. Luis Hernández comes through
Mexico needed every minute of stoppage time to upset the Dutch.
Scotland couldn’t stop the Netherlands from scoring at Argentina ’78.
Gemmill’s goal not enough for Scotland
Archie Gemmill scored one of the best solo goals in World Cup history.
How did Xabi Alonso manage to stay on the pitch after this nasty challenge from Nigel de Jong?
De Jong’s kick starts wave of bookings
De Jong’s risky tackle raised tensions in an already-intense matchup.
68. Schillaci’s surprise scoring tear
Salvatore Schillaci is considered the most unlikely Golden Boot winner in World Cup history.
Salvatore Schillaci’s scintillating tournament
Salvatore Schillaci had a fantastic World Cup for the Italians.
Kuwait’s last World Cup appearance was a memorable one and not for anything the players did.
The Prince Protests
The Prince of Kuwait came onto the field to protest an errant whistle heard during France’s fourth goal.
66. France’s heated locker room
There were no winners in the fight between French striker Nicolas Anelka and coach Raymond Domenech.
France, Anelka crash out
Anelka had some choice words for France’s manager, which resulted in Anelka being sent home from the tournament.
65. Argentina fall short of back-to-back
Argentina were heavily criticized for not being more aggressive with their attack vs. West Germany.
Maradona falls to Germany
In 1990, Argentina lost to West Germany in the World Cup Final and became the first team to not score a goal in the championship game.
64. Red Devils rally
Japan thought they had punched their ticket to the World Cup semifinals, but Beglium had other plans.
Czechoslovakia’s couldn’t take the ball away from Roberto Baggio, and the keeper couldn’t stop him from putting it in the back of the net.
Baggio slaloms through the Czechs
Italy’s Baggio scored a beautiful goal by weaving through Czech defenders.
62. Best World Cup quarterfinal ever?
Before the 1998 World Cup Final, this was the most memorable matchup between Brazil and France.
This should have been named goal of the tournament the moment it left his foot.
60. Garrincha leads Brazil to glory
59. Maradona’s inglorious goodbye
One of the greatest soccer players of all time didn’t get to leave his last World Cup on his terms.
Maradona sent packing
It was supposed to be Argentina’s Diego Maradona’s redemption tour, but he was booted from the world cup for doping.
58. Zaire time-waste for safety
Win or go home was’t an option for Zaire.
Zaire’s head-scratching defense
Mwepu Ilunga kicked the ball out trying to waste time because of a scary ultimatum.
57. Brazil make opening statement
Not one, but two beautiful goals in one game.
Eder and Socrates’ legendary strikes
Eder and Socrates gave Brazil fans something to remember about the 1982 World Cup squad.
56. Michael Owen does it himself
An 18-year-old Michael Owen stole the show against Argentina.
Owen’s wonder-strike
Michael Owen scored a beautiful goal for England in their match against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup.
Ghana would have been the firs African country to make a World Cup semifinal if Suárez didn’t intentionally block the ball with his hand.
The other Hand of God
Luis Suárez received a red card for blocking a goal with his hands in Uruguay’s matchup against Ghana in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
No one could have guessed that Senegal would be the reigning world champions.
Argentina practically passed the ball into the back of Serbia’s net.
52. A storybook start in South Africa
Tshabalala’s strike found the top corner of Mexico’s net.
Tshabalala wows the world
Siphiwe Tshabalala made sure he was the first one to score in the first World Cup held on African soil.
51. Ronaldo comes through again
Spain learned to never count out Cristiano Ronaldo.
50. Donovan delivers
At the peak of his powers, Landon Donovan lived up to his U.S. soccer legend with a critical goal.
49. Pavard volleys from distance
It takes some luck to score a worldie like this, and France had all of it in 2018.
Benjamin Pavard’s rocket
Benjamin Pavard scored an unreal goal against Argentina in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
48. Croatia’s Cinderella story
Croatia went from a nice story to a powerhouse at Russia 2018.
47. Negrete’s sensational scissor kick
Mexico is home to one of the greatest goals in World Cup history.
Manuel Negrete’s scissor kick
Manuel Negrete scored an amazing scissor kick against Bulgaria in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.
James Rodríguez made this masterfully skillful goal look easy.
James rips goal of the year
James Rodríguez put in an absolute lazer right outside the box to give Colombia the victory.
45. Ronaldinho’s perfect mistake
Intentional or not, Ronaldinho’s free-kick got the job done for Brazil.
44. Argentina create controversy
Things went almost a little too well for Argentina when they needed to win by at least four against Peru.
Emotions were high when Germany and the Netherlands faced off at the 1990 World Cup.
Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller see red:
Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller both got red cards in Germany’s matchup against the Netherlands.
North Korea didn’t just beat one of the best teams in the world — they also made history during the process.
North Korea pull off historical upset
North Korea became the first Asian team to progress past the first round.
This page will be updated every day through the start of the World Cup on Nov. 20.
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