Six tournaments, six World Cup Goal of the Tournament winners, and only two of them came from teams that reached the semi-finals. Benjamin Pavard’s France went on to win the 2018 tournament and Diego Forlán’s Uruguay finished fourth in 2010; every other winner was out by the quarter-finals.
The 2026 World Cup Goal of the Tournament went to Sidny Lopes Cabral, 23, for Cape Verde against Argentina in the round of 32. It came in the first half of extra time with Cape Verde a goal down: Cabral went past Alexis Mac Allister and curled the ball over Emiliano Martínez into the far top corner for 2-2. Argentina scored again and won 3-2.
FIFA changed the format for the expanded 48-team tournament. Instead of a single poll at the end, fans voted after each phase, and the phase winners went into a final ballot that closed on Monday 27 July. Eldor Shomurodov’s lob for Uzbekistan against DR Congo, one of only two goals the debutants scored, won the group-stage poll and finished second overall. Wilson Isidor’s rising shot for Haiti against Morocco was third. Erling Haaland’s second goal against Brazil had taken the round-of-16 poll with 34%, ahead of Lionel Messi on 25%, and Julián Álvarez won the poll covering the quarter-finals and semi-finals with 37.2%.
FIFA did not publish the final percentages for the 2026 World Cup Goal of the Tournament. The match date also appears as 3 July in some records and 4 July in others.
2006, Maxi Rodríguez. Argentina against Mexico in Leipzig, a round-of-16 tie at 1-1 going into extra time. Juan Pablo Sorín crossed, and Rodríguez volleyed it with his left foot in the first half of extra time. It sent Argentina through, and FIFA calls it the first winner of the award.
2010, Diego Forlán. A volley against Germany in the third-place play-off in Port Elizabeth, the last match before the final. Germany won 3-2. Forlán also won the Golden Ball that year, and the goal capped a tournament in which he scored five.
2014, James Rodríguez. The goal against Uruguay in the round of 16 at the Maracanã: chest control with his back to goal, a turn and a left-foot volley that went in off the bar. More than four million fans voted on FIFA.com, with Robin van Persie’s diving header against Spain reported second. James then won the Puskás Award with the same goal, the only time a World Cup winner has done the double.
2018, Benjamin Pavard. France were 2-1 down against Argentina in Kazan when the ball came across to the 22-year-old right-back. He hit it first time with the outside of his right foot and it swerved into the far corner. France won 4-3. Over three million votes made it the winner from 18 nominees, ahead of Juan Quintero’s free kick for Colombia against Japan and Luka Modrić’s long shot for Croatia against Argentina.
2022, Richarlison. Brazil’s opening group match against Serbia in Qatar. Vinícius Júnior crossed with the outside of his foot, Richarlison controlled it with one touch and finished with a scissor kick in the 73rd minute for 2-0. FIFA announced on 23 December 2022 that it was the most-voted strike, without publishing a total.
The table below lists the World Cup Goal of the Tournament winners, every one with the match and the round. Each one also has its sticker in the album further down the page, with the ball path drawn from the strike point to the line.
| Year | Winner | Match | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Maxi Rodríguez | Argentina v Mexico | Round of 16 |
| 2010 | Diego Forlán | Uruguay v Germany | Third-place match |
| 2014 | James Rodríguez | Colombia v Uruguay | Round of 16 |
| 2018 | Benjamin Pavard | France v Argentina | Round of 16 |
| 2022 | Richarlison | Brazil v Serbia | Group stage |
| 2026 | Sidny Lopes Cabral | Cape Verde v Argentina | Round of 32 |
There was no official award of this kind before Germany 2006, which is why Diego Maradona’s second goal against England in 1986 is not on the list. FIFA did ask fans in April 2018 to pick the best World Cup goal of all time, and the answer was not Maradona: it was Manuel Negrete’s scissor kick for Mexico against Bulgaria, also from 1986.
A left-footed volley from Juan Pablo Sorín's cross in the first half of extra time at 1-1, played in Leipzig on 24 June 2006. It put Argentina into the quarter-finals and made Rodríguez the first winner of FIFA's fan vote.
A volley in the third-place play-off against Germany, a match Uruguay went on to lose 3-2. The fan vote went to a goal from the tournament's final weekend.
A chest control with his back to goal, a turn and a volley from outside the area. The same goal also won FIFA's Puskás Award for 2014, the only double of its kind.
A half-volley struck with the outside of the right foot that levelled the game at 2-2 in Kazan. France won 4-3. Over three million votes made Pavard the World Cup award's first European winner.
Vinícius Júnior's outside-foot cross, a touch to lift the ball and a scissor kick in the 73rd minute for 2-0. FIFA announced it on 23 December 2022 as the goal fans voted for most.
In extra time at Miami Gardens he went past Alexis Mac Allister and curled the ball over Emiliano Martínez into the far top corner for 2-2. Argentina won 3-2, but the 23-year-old's goal topped the final fan vote from a 12-goal shortlist.
Space kept for the next winner.
Sidny Lopes Cabral of Cape Verde, for his curler against Argentina in extra time of their round-of-32 match at Miami Gardens. Eldor Shomurodov of Uzbekistan was second and Haiti's Wilson Isidor third.
After the 2006 World Cup in Germany. FIFA describes Maxi Rodríguez, for his volley against Mexico, as the inaugural recipient.
It has happened twice. Diego Forlán's Uruguay lost the 2010 third-place match to Germany 3-2, and Cabral's Cape Verde lost 3-2 to Argentina in 2026.
No. Messi had a goal on the 2026 shortlist and placed in the round-of-16 poll behind Erling Haaland, but he has never won the World Cup award.
It varies. The 2018 vote had 18 goals; for 2026 FIFA chose 12 from the 308 scored at the tournament. FIFA does not say how the list is compiled.