It will probably go down as the Socceroos’ greatest-ever goal but Timmy Cahill’s stunning volley against the Netherlands at the World Cup in Brazil wasn’t good enough to be in the top five at the recent tournament.
More than four million fans voted for their favourite strike on FIFA.com and it was no surprise to see Colombian wonder-kid James Rodriguez getting the nod for his superb strike in his nation’s round-of-16 win over Uruguay.
Real Madrid-bound Rodriguez lit up the Maracana with a sublime piece of skill, controlling the ball on his chest before swivelling and hitting a powerful left-footed volley that dipped and swerved before finding the back of the net.
It was a strike similar to Cahill’s but the Australian stars goal came in as the sixth most popular amongst the fans.
Netherlands skipper Robin van Persie’s brilliant diving header against Spain came in at no.2, with Rodriguez’ appeared again at three for his clever dinked finish against Japan in the group stage.
Germany hero Mario Goetze’s winner in the World Cup final against Argentina was the fourth most popular goal, while Brazilian defender David Luiz was the fifth best for his dipping, swerving free-kick against Colombia in the host-nation’s 2-1 quarter-final victory.
After Cahill’s stunner, David Villa’s flicked finish against Australia was seventh best while Argentina skipper Lionel Messi had the eighth and ninth best goals for his efforts against Nigeria and Bosnia-Herzegovina, with Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri’s brilliant effort against Honduras rounding out the top 10.