Goals of the Russia 2018 World Cup - 3 Quiz

Answer: Luka Modric

Croatia vs Nigeria was played on June 16, as the second match of Group D after Argentina and Iceland tied 1-1 hours before. The match, which was the first time the two countries faced each other, got its first goal through an unfortunate own goal by Nigerian Oghenekaro Etebo. Croatia continued to fight and, 20 minutes before the match was over, defender William Troost-Ekong committed a foul inside the box, prompting Brazilian referee Sandro Ricci to signal a penalty kick. Luka Modric successfully executed the penalty kick, which was his first goal in a World Cup.

Interestingly, this was the 2400th goal in World Cup history. Luka Modric started his career playing in the Bosnian and Croatian leagues. In 2008, he was transferred to English club Tottenham Hotspur, where he grew professionally under the management of Harry Redknapp. Modric then migrated to Real Madrid in 2012, making big contributions to the team from the moment he started playing, and winning several championships with the Spanish club. Due to his excellent year with both his club and his national team (Croatia went on to be the runner-up of the 2018 World Cup), Modric was awarded the 2018 Ballon D'or, an honor that only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had received for the last 10 years.

Answer: Free kick

Costa Rica and Serbia arrived to the World Cup as the underdogs, since Brazil and Switzerland were also in their groups. The start of the match had some good plays by both teams, but after that nothing really happened in the first half. On the 56th minute, defender David Guzman committed a foul, for which he was shown a yellow card. Serbian captain Aleksandar Kolarov, who is known to be good with free kick, did not miss out on the opportunity and scored a spectacular goal that goalkeeper Keylor Navas could not stop.

This match was the seventh in World Cup history to be resolved by a single free kick goal, and marked the fourth consecutive time that Serbia won in a World Cup match by 1-0.

Answer: Hirving Lozano

Group F was nicknamed the "group of death" because it seemed like it would be the toughest one, mainly because of the presence of powerhouse and 2014 world champions Germany. Mexico's national team arrived at the Russia World Cup with coach Juan Carlos Osorio having very little confidence from the fans because of his controversial "rotaciones" system. In the 35th minute, Hirving Lozano, who at a very young age had given great performances with Mexican club Pachuca and was then signed to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, made a great play and shot a powerful kick inside the box, defeating goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Although Germany nearly scored at the end, Mexico managed to achieve what many believed was an impossible feat, and took with them 3 very meaningful points.

Lozano's performance prompted the creative Mexican crowd to start a chant that went: "Eeeel 'Chucky' Lozano" (using the music from "Seven Nation Army", the song that played at the beginning of every 2018 World Cup match. Lozano is nicknamed "Chucky" because of his resemblance to the fictional horror movie ghost of the same name. What a day that was for Mexicans all over the world!

Answer: Outside

Brazil, as always, was a serious candidate to win the 2018 championship for the first time since 2002. This Brazilian squad was loaded with stars like Neymar, Philippe Coutinho, and Thiago Silva, who played in some of the best leagues in the world. The Swiss team had a solid defense, but Coutinho managed to break it by surprising them with a shot from outside the box, after an unsuccessful header from a Swiss defender.

This was Coutinho's first-ever goal in a World Cup finals tournament.

Answer: Brazilians claimed there was a foul

At 50', the Swiss executed a corner kick and somehow, Steven Zuber managed to sneak in between four Brazilians and put the ball into the net with his head. Brazilians claimed that the goal should not have been valid because Zuber pushed the Brazilian defender who was next to him.

In the days following the match, members of the Brazil team argued that this would have been a good opportunity to use the newly-implemented VAR (Video Assistant Referee) system. Mexican referee Cesar Ramos did not even consult with the VAR team and conceded the goal as legitimate from the start.

Answer: Yes

VAR was one of the most talked-about subjects during the 2018 World Cup, since it was the first time the technology was used in this tournament. Some people argued that it would give the game more justice, while others thought it would strip football from its essence. Undeniably, VAR had an impact in the matches, because this was the seventh penalty called, and the third for which VAR helped in the decision. Salvadorian referee Joel Aguilar had not initially given the penalty kick after a sliding tackle by a Korean player, but the VAR team asked him to verify it again, and he then reversed his decision. Swedish captain Andreas Granqvist successfully executed the penalty kick, giving Sweden their first win in their opening match since 1958.

Answer: Napoli

A spectacular volley by Mertens from the edge of the box at the beginning of the second half put Belgium in the lead against a Panamanian team that was not expected to do well in this match. It was hard for the Belgians to crack the defense, but once they could, it was game over for the Central American squad. Dries Mertens began his professional career with Belgian team Gent. He played for a couple Dutch teams like Utrecht and PSV Eindhoven before signing with Napoli in 2013.

Napoli began its history as a club in the early 20th century, and after a name change in 1964, it began having a more successful history, being very close to winning the league. Napoli later signed players like Maradona, Dino Zoff, and Salvatore Bagni to remain competitive. Since then, the club has had irregular seasons. Maradona's number, 10, was retired by the club in 2000.

Answer: Romelu Lukaku

In the 69th minute, Kevin de Bruyne dribbled the ball through the Panamanian defense and crossed perfectly for Lukaku to simply push the ball with his head. Minutes later, Eden Hazard ran quickly through the middle of the field and passed the ball to Lukaku, who easily shot the ball into the net for a definitive 3-0. The Belgian team would go on to advance to the knockout stage with a perfect nine points and, unfortunately, Panama was eliminated as they did not win a single match in the group stage.

Romelu Lukaku was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1993. He started his professional career with Anderlecht and he quickly displayed his talent by becoming the top scorer of the Belgian league. He joined Chelsea in 2011 and left in 2014, after which he spent time in two other English clubs: West Bromwich Albion and Everton. In 2017, he was signed by Manchester United, a club with which he joined the elite list of players who have scored 100 or more goals in the Premier League with a goal in March 2018 against Swansea City.

Answer: Mouez Hassen

England started off very well, creating dangerous opportunities from the beginning. In the 11th minute, an English player powerfully headed the ball from a corner kick, which was initially stopped by the Tunisian goalkeeper. Unfortunately for him, Harry Kane was standing right next to him, and shot the ball into the net. Minutes later, Mouez Hassen lay down on the field, visibly in pain. Medical services were called in and determined he needed to be substituted. With tears in his eyes, he was substituted by Farouk Ben Mustapha, and could not play again for the rest of the tournament.

Hassen was born in France in 1995 and played for France's youth squads since he was 15 years old. Nevertheless, he chose to represent Tunisia at the highest competitive level in association football (FIFA rules allow for these changes if the player has not played for the main national team before). Seifeddine Khaoui and Ellyes Skhiri both played for France at the youth level as well, but were part of Tunisia's squad for the Russia World Cup.

Answer: Kyle Walker

In the 33rd minute, Dylan Bronn crossed the ball looking for Ben Youssef, but Kyle Walker raised his elbow too high and hit Ben Youssef, committing a foul. The referee didn't hesitate and, without asking for VAR confirmation, he pointed to the penalty spot, which Ben Youssef celebrated. The penalty kick was scored by Ferjani Sassi, this being his only goal in the competition. This was the first penalty kick against England since 1998, and it ended in a goal just like the four previous ones.

Kyle Walker developed as a footballer in Sheffield United since he was very young, and debuted with the first team in 2008. After playing for other clubs like Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, Walker signed with Manchester City in an expensive transfer. With Manchester City, Walker has won the Premier League and the EFL Cup.