The World Cup. The daddy of them all. This tournament is the biggest sporting event in the world, make no bones about that. And what makes it so good? The drama, the quality of football on show, the elation at seeing your team win...

Yes, they're all very good reasons to love the greatest show on earth. But what we really love about the World Cup is goals. Good goals, own goals, scrappy goals, disallowed goals: all of them combined together to create a wondrous sense of fulfilment at the end of the month-long event.

In celebration of this fact, here is a list of my top five favourite goals of all time from the history of the World Cup. In my eyes, they're the greatest five goals the tournament has ever seen. You may agree, you may disagree. That's the beauty of it.

Hold on to your novelty England hats, here we go...

5. David Platt: England vs Belgium, 1990

I'll start off with an England goal, seeing as no other English goals make my list. England are heading towards extra-time and possibly penalties in their second round match against Belgium at Italia '90. Things are looking grim.

That is until England's favourite daft-as-a-brush son, Paul Gascgoine, grabs the ball and bursts off on a run from deep in England's half... And gets fouled halfway into Belgian territory. Things still look grim. 

The resulting free kick is chipped in by Gazza. Platt, with all the finesse of a painter stroking the canvas, turns and catches the ball on the volley with his instep. Watching it in slow-motion, you realise how delicate the move actually was. Lineker's celebratory turn to his teammates in the pile-on tells you all you need to know about how important (and wonderful) that goal was. 

4. Diego Maradona: Argentina vs England, 1986

Genius. Some see it as a gift. For those who have it, it can be more like a curse. Eccentricity and genius go hand in hand, and the result causes many a problem, especially in football. Look at Gazza. Suarez. Paul Merson. But before those three luminaries of the game lit up the footballing world, one Diego Armando Maradona was the man who everyone was talking about.

While most of the time it was for the right reason, he was afflicted by that same irrational desire to win and penchant for 'enjoying himself' that has afflicted many before him, and many after. The quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup was a game in which we saw the worst, followed by the best in Maradona. 

Moments after committing the infamous 'Hand of God' offence (more of that in another blog), Maradona managed to conjure up the unimaginable. Taking the ball just inside his own half, he deftly turns Peters Reid and Beardsley before setting off on an unstoppable run: he skips past Terry Butcher, into the box, and fools Peter Shilton with a feint before sliding the ball into the back of the net. From Beast to Beauty in just over four minutes.

3. Dennis Bergkamp: Netherlands vs Argentina, 1998

In a world of outrageous footballing behaviour and oversized egos, it is sometimes easy to forget the artistry of Dennis Bergkamp. The man was one of the greatest players the game has ever seen, and arguably the most intelligent as well. Bergkamp has often said he loved assisting goals as much as scoring them, which tells you something about the consumate aesthete the man was.

His goal for Holland against Argentina in 1998 was one of the many moments of sumptuous class that defined the Dutchman's career. After having done next-to-nothing (not even an exaggeration; after assisting Kluivert's opening goal he had been woeful) for near 90 minutes, Bergkamp races onto Frank de Boer's outrageous - and I mean outrageous, he definitely meant to find him with that punt - pass and prances into the air, killing the pace on the ball. With his second touch he turns the ball inside Roberto Ayala with his instep, and with his third finishes past Carlos Roa with the outside of his boot.

All that with his right foot. Technical perfection in three seconds, with three touches. Almost as if he planned it.

2. Esteban Cambiasso: Argentina vs Serbia and Montenegro, 2006

This goal is a bit of a sentimental choice from me, I must admit. In 2006 I was 14, and this was the first World Cup of which I watched every single game. Yet this goal is my abiding memory of the tournament. I arrived home from school on a Friday afternoon, having just missed the start of the match. Argentina were already 1-0 up.

I sat down to the rest, and not a lot happened. Until the 29th minute. I'll let Barry Glendenning of the Guardian describe what happened next from his live-blog of the game in 2006: 

'Sweet mother of Jesus, how the fuck am I supposed to describe that? The goal of the tournament so far by Cambiasso, and quite possibly the greatest goal that's ever been scored.'

I couldn't really have put it any better myself. This was tiki-taka BEFORE tiki-taka was a glint in a Spaniard's eye. I like to think that Pep Guardiola was watching this game and had a religious-like epiphany after that goal. A wonderful, beautiful piece of art that convinced me that the World Cup was the greatest and most important sporting event in the world.

1. Carlos Alberto: Brazil vs Italy, 1970

For me, this is the goal that sums up what Brazil should be in footballing terms. A country so deeply imbued with the swagger of their own footballing superiority they are able to express exactly that sentiment out on the pitch. 

This goal is the ultimate display of team-play, individual skill, ludicrous power, and carefree fun. And I absolutely adore it. 

The Brazil forward, Tostao gets the ball at left-back. It finds its way to Clodoaldo, the central midfielder, who dribbles past four Italian players (in his own half), before laying it off to Rivelino, who spots Jairzinho on the wing and boots the ball down to him. Jairzinho passes to Pele, who has every right to shoot being the best player ever and all, but instead he stops the ball.

Waits. 

And then nonchalant as you like, rolls the ball into the path of the barnstorming Carlos Alberto, who thunders the ball into the back of the net. The ball had passed through eight Brazilian outfield players before arriving in the back of the Italian goal. 4-1. Game over. A third World Cup for Brazil. And the best World Cup goal ever to boot.

Agree? Disagree? Like I said before, that's the beauty of the World Cup. With so many goals to choose from and counting, how could anyone ever pick five exactly the same?

Comment below or contact us through Twitter or Facebook to let us know your five favourite ever World Cup goals!

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