History

CAPE TOWN — South Africa's flying winger Siphiwe Tshabalala ignited a nation with his thunderbolt in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup to send the host's supporters into delirium and 10 years on his goal still resonates across the African continent.

Tshabalala’s scorching strike against Mexico at Soccer City in Soweto was one of the iconic moments of the first World Cup in Africa — his pace, technique and power on show in a moment of brilliance that brought instant global recognition.

Paul Caligiuri is often credited with scoring the most important goal in U.S. men’s soccer history, the “shot heard ’round the world” in 1989. Four years prior, he took part in another legendary moment: the longest soccer match in NCAA history, one that didn’t end until nearly four hours after kickoff. 

Even though the world is slowly opening back up and soccer is reemerging onto the TV again, I’m sure everyone is dying to watch the game, no matter how.

No amount of soccer watching is going to make up for the three months of drought. We’ll watch anything to get our blood rushing again — I’m certainly entertained by the best cat goalie. 

But with this next phase of quarantine, we’re gonna need something a little more hearty. Luckily, Netflix has our back. Like always.

Seven years ago, the wildest sequence of events took place at Vicarage Road during the Championship playoff semifinal between Watford and Leicester City. Troy Deeney’s goal vs. Leicester is fondly remembered years later as one of the best last-second winners.

At the time, Watford had been out of the Premier League for six years, and this was the first time in five years that the Hornets had finished in the top six of the Championship and even qualified for the playoffs.

For basketball fans, “The Last Dance” has been a welcome reprieve from a total lack of hoops action over the last two months. The Michael Jordan-centric Chicago Bulls docuseries has been a rating bonanza for ESPN.

But there is no real like-for-like equivalent for soccer fans to dive into during this pandemic.