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We can all remember where we were when David Beckham scored that last-minute free-kick against Greece in 2001 to send England to the World Cup Finals the following year, where a Ronaldinho free-kick caught David Seaman off-guard and sent England packing in the quarter-finals.
Beckham repeated his free-kick brilliance at the 1998 World Cup against Colombia as well as against Ecuador in 2006. Perhaps England’s Wayne Rooney, who scored a great free-kick against San Mario in a qualifying match, can do the same against Italy, Uruguay or Costa Rica in Brazil.
However, the qualifying stages showed the free-kick prowess of Uruguay, who England play on 19 June, with Manchester United target Edinson Cavani scoring a glorious effort against Jordan.
Other notable free-kicks include two in one match between Serbia and Wales, with Aleksandar Kolarov making his long-range shot seem effortless, while Gareth Bale showed exactly why he is now a Champions League winner.
Bale’s former team mate Jan Vertonghen also showed his free-kick mastery against Wales during the qualifying rounds, with his young Belgium side considered to be a dangerous packaged at this year’s World Cup.
Watch the video above for other efforts from Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic, Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Iceland’s Gylfi Sigurdsson, Russia’s Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Poland’s Piotr Zielinski.
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