The Goal of the Tournament is the most democratic of all the World Cup individual awards, decided by a global public vote that rewards technique, audacity, and the kind of moment that stops the world in its tracks.
With Golden Boot winner odds reflecting the players most likely to dominate the scoring charts in 2026, here is a look back at every officially recognised Goal of the Tournament since the award was introduced in 2006.
Maxi Rodriguez vs Mexico: 2006
The goal that launched the award. Argentina and Mexico were level at 1-1 when Juan Pablo Sorin switched the ball to Rodriguez on the left side of the penalty area in the 98th minute of extra time. Rodriguez chested it down, let it drop, and with Gonzalo Pineda closing in, connected with a thunderous left-footed volley that flew into the far top corner past a helpless Oswaldo Sanchez. It was Rodriguez’s first touch on the ball in that sequence. Argentina won 2-1 and progressed to the quarter-finals.
It was the first Goal of the Tournament ever awarded, and it set a standard that subsequent winners have had to match. Rodriguez later reflected that the goal changed his career overnight, and that people remind him of it wherever he goes. Few World Cup goals have aged as well.
Diego Forlan vs Germany: 2010
Forlan’s 2010 World Cup was one of the great individual tournament performances, five goals, the Golden Ball, and a near-single-handed run to the semi-finals for Uruguay. His Goal of the Tournament came in the third-place match against Germany, a consolation in the context of a match Uruguay were losing, but a goal that required no context to appreciate.
Collecting a cut-back on the edge of the area, Forlan got his knee over the notorious Jabulani ball and drove a volley into the ground. It bounced once before rising sharply past a bewildered German goalkeeper and into the net. The technique required to control the 2010 World Cup’s infamously unpredictable ball in that moment was extraordinary. Forlan was the only player at the tournament who seemed to master it entirely.
James Rodriguez vs Uruguay: 2014
The goal that announced Rodriguez to the world and remains the finest individual moment the award has recognised. In the round of 16, Rodriguez found space on the left edge of the area, brought a dropping ball down on his chest, let it fall to his favoured left foot, and rifled a volley into the top corner in the 28th minute. The technique was immaculate. The composure under pressure was extraordinary.
It won the Puskas Award for goal of the year alongside the Goal of the Tournament, the only goal ever to claim both honours simultaneously. Rodriguez won the Golden Boot with six goals. Real Madrid signed him that summer. The Uruguay goal is the reason why.
Benjamin Pavard vs Argentina: 2018
France and Argentina were locked at 2-2 in a chaotic round of 16 when Lucas Hernandez’s delivery bounced through Argentina’s penalty area and fell to Pavard on the right side of the box in the 57th minute. The right-back hit it first time, across his body, with the outside of his boot. The ball curved perfectly into the far top corner past Franco Armani, who had no chance.
Pavard became the first and only European to win the Goal of the Tournament. What made it remarkable beyond the technique was the context: a full-back, in a round of 16 match at a World Cup, producing a first-time finish of that precision under that pressure. France won 4-3 and went on to lift the trophy.
Richarlison vs Serbia: 2022
The most acrobatic goal the award has ever recognised. In the 73rd minute of Brazil’s opening group game, Richarlison received the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal. He flicked it into the air on his first touch, swivelled, launched himself, and connected with a scissor kick that sailed over a defender and past the goalkeeper. The entire sequence from first touch to finish took less than two seconds.
For those following World Cup odds ahead of 2026, Brazil will hope Richarlison’s fitness and form can contribute something similar in North America. The goal won the Puskas Award as well as the Goal of the Tournament and was immediately recognised as one of the finest pieces of individual skill the competition had ever produced. Brazil went on to be eliminated by Croatia in the quarter-finals, but the goal will outlast the tournament result by decades.
Article written by Ryan Miller
