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Goal celebrations at the World Cup are often shared, remembered, and talked about more than the goals themselves. There have been countless iconic World Cup celebrations, from Bebeto’s cradle against the Netherlands in 2004, used to celebrate the birth of his son, to South Africa’s Macarena in 2010, showcasing the dancing abilities of the host nation. Maradonna's wild-eyed celebration for Argentina against Greece in 1994 will always remain an iconic Wolrd Cup moment, while Brian Laudrup's 'no big deal' celebration for Denmark against Brazil in 1998 is replayed before every tournament. These moments become etched in history and play an important role in how the tournament is remembered.
This World Cup has been no exception with players more aware than ever about how they celebrate a goal due to the exposure of every World Cup moment across social media. Players have become more and more creative with their celebrations, with many routines now synonymous with particular players. In fact, many of the World Cup players who are active across social media openly share their practice and preparation for a routine when they score a goal. Some, such as Jessie Lingard, have even trademarked their celebration!
This tournament has already witnessed some of the most memorable goal celebrations. With only a single 0-0 draw so far in the tournament, and all 32 teams scoring at least one goal, there has been plenty of opportunities to show off creative goal celebrations. However, sometimes players or teams don't get it right and we have also witnessed some of the most embarrassing and cringe-worthy celebrations in recent memory over the past three weeks.
Here are the best and worst goal celebrations of World Cup 2018 so far.
Antoine Griezmann's 'Take The L' Fortnite Dance
The hugely popular video game, Fortnite, has influenced numerous goal celebrations throughout this World Cup. When Antoine Griezmann cooly slotted home a penalty for the opening goal in France's knockout game against Argentina, the French superstar immediately threw up an 'L' sign to his forehead and began jigging back on forth between his two legs.
While anyone who doesn't play the co-op sandbox video game was left scratching their heads, Fortnite fans enjoyed Griezmann's reference to the 'Take The L' dance, performed as a trolling move in the game after you have killed another player. See the dance below.
Sergio Ramos Celebrates An Own Goal
Love him or loathe him, Sergio Ramos knows how to stay in the headlines. The Real Madrid defender came into the tournament on the back of two headline-making incidents in the Champions League Final and it wasn't long until Ramos made headlines again for his actions.
The Spaniard embarrassingly claimed what was clearly an own goal from Sergi Ignashevich in Spain's last 16 knockout game against Russia. While celebrating his side taking the lead in an important match is not noteworthy, it is the vigour with which Ramos celebrated that drew ire from most people. See the goal and celebration below.
Xhaka & Shaqiri Make An Albanian Nationalist Symbol
It's always said that politics and football should never mix. However, unfortunately, they often do as was demonstrated during Switzerland's 2-1 victory over Serbia in the World Cup group stages. Both Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka celebrated their goals by making a provocative 'Black Eagle' nationalist symbol.
The symbol, created by joining hands together and making a flapping motion, relates to the Albanian national flag which features a black eagle. The gesture was in reference to the ongoing conflict in Kosovo and beyond between ethnic Albanians and nationalist Serbs and resulted in a fine for both players. See them make the symbol below.
Columbia's Dance Routines
Columbia's inventive and entertaining full dance routines were a highlight of the 2014 World Cup and they did not disappoint during their time in Russia. The South Americans busted out a classic routine, taken from popular TV show Ali G, after Yerry Mina's powerful header put them 1-0 up against Senegal. Lining up, all of the players moved their arms in synchronization to create a wave motion.
This celebration was among the highlights from the many celebrations by the Columbians and arguably the routine of the tournament. Watch the Columbians line up and celebrate Yerry Mina's goal in style below.
Jessie Lingard's 'Hype' Fortnite Dance
Jessie Lingard has become somewhat of an expert at creating goal celebrations. The Manchester United star regularly brings out new and complex celebrations when scoring for his club. However, there wasn't anything overly complicated when he celebrated his wonderful goal against Panama.
The forward quickly ran to the side of the pitch, breaking out in a 'Hype' dance, once again taken from the Fornite game. Fist pumping and kicking his legs, as the character in the game does, the England player ended his celebration by making his trademarked 'JL' symbol by using his index fingers and thumbs to create the letters. See the celebration below.
Michy Batshuayi Hits Himself In The Face
Perhaps the most embarrassing, and certainly the funniest celebration on this list goes to Michy Batshuayi. Adnan Juanazj had just put Belgium 1-0 up against England in their final group game and had run to the sidelines to celebrate with the rest of his teammates. Rather than follow and celebrate with his team, an over-excited Batshuayi tried to blast the ball into the net for the second time in celebration.
However, things didn't go to plan as the ball rebounded off the post and hit the Chelsea player square in the face, leaving him dazed, confused, and very embarrassed! Watch and enjoy below!
Senegal Display Their Rhythm
Senegal won the hearts of many fans throughout the World Cup thanks to their fun-loving attitude, easy-going training routines, and superb dancing. The Senegalese continually played with smiles on their faces and went viral during the tournament thanks to some creative warmup methods before matches.
Rather than simply running from cone to cone, the Senegalese danced skipped and hopped for their pre-match ritual. Their dancing goal celebrations were shared around the world, in particular, their choreographed dance after M'Baye Niang scored their second against Poland as they beat the Europeans 2-1 in the group stages. See their warmup and goal celebrations below.
Dele Alli's 'Ride The Pony' Fortnite Dance
Yes, it is a third goal celebration inspired by Fortnite. The co-op sandbox game has massively influenced how players celebrate at this World Cup and Dele Alli has shown he is a huge fan. Displaying his love for the game after his goal against Sweden in the quarter-finals, Alli performed a 'Ride The Pony' dance by placing his hands in the air and swivelling from side to side while stomping his feet.
The Spurs midfielder is a Fortnite enthusiast, regularly streaming live on Twitch and even possing in a Fortnite-inspired position known as 'Flossing' for his official World Cup portrait. See his 'Ride The Pony' celebration below.
