Uzbek athlete beats Messi and Vini to the World Cup's most beautiful goal award

Uzbekistan was eliminated in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, but left its mark on the competition. Striker Eldor Shomurodov was chosen by fans as the scorer of the most beautiful goal in the first phase, in a vote promoted by FIFA.

The winning move came in the 3-1 defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Group K. Just ten minutes into the game, Shomurodov received a shot from the left side of the area and, with practically no angle, surprised goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi with a touch through coverage to open the scoring.

In the popular vote, the Uzbek captain received 36% of the votes and finished in the lead. Second place went to Wilson Isidor, from Haiti, who obtained 26.5% after scoring a long-range shot in the 4-2 defeat to Morocco. Closing the podium, Kerim Alajbegovic received 24.9% of the votes thanks to the beautiful goal scored in Bosnia's 3-1 victory over Qatar.

The dispute brought together some of the main stars of world football. Lionel Messi scored the first of the three goals scored against Algeria, while Vinicius Júnior appeared among those nominated for the goal scored in the draw against Morocco. Kylian Mbappé entered the list with the play that closed France's 3-1 victory over Senegal.

In the 2022 edition of the World Cup, the award for the most beautiful goal went to Richarlison. The Brazilian striker won the election after scoring a volley in the 2-0 victory over Serbia, still in the group stage of the tournament played in Qatar.

See the most beautiful goal of the World Cup

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Without Germany, Brazil remains at the top of the list of World Cup champions

Source: CNN