The countdown to the2026 World Cupis on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event.
Brazil's path to the knockout stages of the 2022 World Cup started against Serbia, a team it defeated 2-0 in the 2018 tournament. TheSeleçãostarted slowly, unable to find the back of the net through the opening 45 minutes.
The second half was a different story and turned into the Richarlison show.
Four months after the forward signed with Tottenham, Brazil’s No. 9 opened the scoring in the 62nd minute. Less than 10 minutes later, he left a lasting impact on the tournament with what would eventually be voted as theGoal of the Tournament.
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Vinícius Júnior approached the Serbia box from the left and delivered a cross from just outside the penalty box to Richarlison, who had settled into open space on the penalty spot. He controlled the ball with a flick of his left foot, then spun on his left shoulder to deliver a stunning scissor-kick goal past goalkeeper Vanja Milinković-Savić.
“Nowthatis Brazil,” exclaimed announcer Peter Drury on the call.
“My childhood dream has come true,”said Richarlison of scoring in his first World Cup. “We knew it was going to be difficult to get past them. I'm used to playing against defensive teams like this in England. I wanted to take advantage of the opportunities that I had and I did.”
Richarlison would score his third goal with another brilliant effort in the Round of 16 against South Korea. The interplay between Richarlison, Marquinhos and Thiago Silva resultedin another goal of the tournament nominee.
The goal against Serbia would win goal of the World Cup, beating out highlights delivered by the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Vincent Aboubakar and Neymar, among others.
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