The anatomy of Christian Eriksen’s truly unique World Cup 2018 goal

It may not have been the best goal we have seen at the Russian World Cup - but it was the most beautiful. We try to break down quite what made Eriksen’s goal so special

Perhaps it wasn’t the best goal we have seen so far at this World Cup, but it was the most beautiful. Four touches, two passes and one masterful half-volley, soaring high above Mat Ryan’s flat-footed dive and into the top corner of the net, culminating in that characteristic semi-abashed celebration from Christian Eriksen and an early lead for Denmark.

There is no question that it is the best team goal we have yet seen in Russia. We are not even a third of the way through this tournament and yet the number of penalties and free-kicks scored already surpasses that recorded four years ago in Brazil. So far this has been a World Cup to prove that famous old Brian Clough line “It only takes a second to score a goal” completely true: a tournament of individual brilliance, dead ball drama and superstar machismo.

And yet this was something different, a goal where the assist – even the pre-assist – was every bit as sublime and significant as the finish which concluded the move. A true team goal comprised of multiple moving parts: the perfect blend of on-and-off-the-ball movement and the result of a spontaneous attacking directness that belies its beauty.

It makes sense at this point to breakdown exactly how the goal came to be. The state of play is as follows: the game is still goalless and poised to tick over into its sixth minute, and Denmark win a throw-in. Jens Stryger Larsen attempts to pick out Thomas Delaney, but the midfielder’s touch is heavy, allowing first for Tom Rogic to get a foot in and then for Aaron Mooy to head the ball downfield.

It falls to Lasse Schöne playing in an unfamiliar deep position, who plays a sublime pass forward under pressure that completely bisects the Australian defence. Perhaps he’s fortunate – Eriksen looks for a blink of the eye as if he is about to pluck the ball out of the air only to instead allow it to bounce past him, while Trent Sainsbury steps across too late to make the interception – but his strength and presence of mind sees him to get to the ball first. If anything, he makes his own luck.

Before we get to Nicolai Jørgensen’s magic, it is at this moment worth first noting the movement of Eriksen, who has by this point not run towards the ball, or lingered on the edge of the penalty box where he plunders so many of his goals for Tottenham Hotspur, but instead drifted perceptively into the space afforded by Mark Milligan, who has shuffled over to his right to atone for Sainsbury’s utterly delayed reaction.

Not that he finds himself able to do anything about Jørgensen, mind. The 6 ft 4 in Feyenoord striker only takes two touches but both are as brilliant as other. His first movement is to gently bring the bouncing ball under control with his right instep, cushioning it neatly away from Milligan and – in a further insult to Sainsbury – into the space behind the defensive line.

Fig 1: Jorgensen brings the ball under control (Getty)

Fig 2: Jorgensen flicks the ball back across goal (Getty)

Fig 3: He uses the outstep of his boot to flick the ball on (Getty)

The pass is just as good: waiting for the ball to drop Jørgensen instantaneously shifts his weight, holding off Sainsbury and casually flicking the ball with the outstep of his right boot back across the face of goal. Milligan is unable to react and by the time the Australian full-back Aziz Behich has diverted his attention from Yussuf Poulsen to Eriksen, it is already too late.

Fig 4: Eriksen darts into the penalty box (Getty)

Fig 5: And prepares to strike the ball (Reuters) (REUTERS)

But what elevates the pass to an even higher level is Jørgensen’s acute understanding of Eriksen’s movement, even though during the split second that he glances over his shoulder to look at the eventual destination of his pass – as the ball completes its instantaneous parabola – his team-mate is still lingering outside the box, surely outside of his field of vision.

He plays the pass anyway. And it falls perfectly for – who else? – the onrushing Eriksen, who bursts into the pocket of space and masterfully drives home a technically perfect half-volley. So sublime is the strike that virtually from the moment it explodes off Eriksen’s left boot, he has already wheeled away to his right to celebrate. Milligan realises at almost the exact same moment, bringing his scamper over to Eriksen's position to a short, sharp stop before the diving Ryan has even hit the floor.

Fig 6: Eriksen beats Milligan to the ball and hits a half-volley (Reuters) (REUTERS)

Fig 7: The ball beats Ryan's despairing dive (Reuters) (REUTERS)

Fig 8: Eriksen turns to celebrate before Ryan has hit the ground (AP)

In so many ways it was the quintessential Eriksen goal: testament to his acute understanding of space, his uncanny understanding of when to give the ball and when to demand it, and his thoroughly underappreciated predatory instincts.

It also neatly summarised his vital importance to this occasionally frustrating Danish side. It was the 18^th goal he has been directly involved in in his last 15 appearances for Denmark – 13 goals, five assists – reflecting both how this Danish team is built around his talents and his ever growing sense of personal responsibility. “Any day of the week, and I have said this before, I would have Eriksen over Neymar,” Peter Schmeichel almost immediately tweeted.

But this goal was about more than just Eriksen. An incredible assist and an incredible finish, made possible by a triumph of strength and determination in the middle of the pitch and, quite possibly, an incredible pass from Schöne, too. It is tribute to a cohesive tactical system with players used to playing alongside one another, and the understanding which that brings.

The Spurs man is vitally important to club and country (Getty)

It was a truly brilliant team goal in an already enthralling tournament that has so far witnessed far more of an onus on the individual over the collective, and therefore all the better for it.