Manchester United players past and present have graced numerous World Cups and scored some memorable goals, Robin van Persie recently adding his name to the list with arguably the best strike of this year’s tournament.
Van Persie’s diving header against now deposed champions Spain set the Netherlands on their way to a 5-1 mass destruction of their 2010 final opponents and also earns a place in MM’s top five United goals at the World Cup.
Most of the goals came not too long ago though for the historians among you, a delve through the archives takes us back to 1966 and England’s sole triumph.
1. Robin van Persie (Netherlands v Spain, 2014 World Cup)
Van Persie’s spectacular looping header in Holland’s 5-1 battering of current World Cup champions Spain will certainly live the long in the memory, and could be argued as one of the greatest ever World Cup goals.
Van Persie, who had suffered a wretched season at United, rediscovered his form after stretching out in mid-air to send an incredible looping header over the top of the helpless Iker Casillas from just inside the area.
2) Paul Scholes (England v Tunisia, 1998)
Paul Scholes never usually scored simple goals and so it proved in the 1998 World Cup, as the midfielder netted another stunner.
At the of age of 24, Scholes picked up the loose ball on the edge of the area and sent a precise curling shot into the top right hand corner, sealing a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tunisia.
3) Bobby Charlton (England v Portugal, 1966)
In the same year as England’s 1966 World Cup triumph, talisman Bobby Charlton unleashed a bullet to seal England’s passage through to the final.
Charlton had Rodger Hunt to thank after the forward unselfishly laid the ball back to the former United man, who clinically dispatched the ball into the bottom left hand corner.
4) David Beckham (England v Colombia, 1998)
David Beckham announced himself on the World Stage after rustling the back of the net with a trademark free-kick, leaving Columbian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon clutching at thin air.
Manager Glenn Hoddle brought Beckham on as a substitute and it proved to be the right call as the midfielder, from 25 yards out, sent a delicate free-kick into the bottom left hand corner.
5) Ji-sung Park (South Korea v Greece, 2010)
Ji-sung Park was not renowned for his direct and skilful running but he displayed exactly that against Greece in the 2010 World Cup.
The Korean picked up the ball midway through Greece’s half, drove forward and shrugged off two challenges before calmly slotting home in his side’s 2-0 triumph.
Main image courtesy of FibraFootballVideos via YouTube, with thanks.
