Showing articles from the category #ICYMI
Clear filterWhen is a save not a save? In the MLS, that’s where. In the dying minutes of Vancouver Whitecaps’ win over LA Galaxy this week, LA ‘keeper JT Marcinkowski faced a late penalty from Bruno Caicedo, and got nearly everything right – dive the right way? Tick. Get a strong hand to it? Tick. Stop the ball from hitting the net? Tick. Sadly for him that wasn’t quite enough, and it resulted in one of the stranger penalty goals we’ve seen for a while…
Who’d be a goalkeeper? They’ve gotten a lot of stick over the years, as goalie blunders make up at least a third of our #ICYMI archive. And Harrogate Town vs Gateshead showed us once again the highs and lows of the crucial position. At the start of the second half, Heed keeper Pete Jameson somehow beat his opposite number from his own box. The good and the bad all in one.
We haven’t even reached the end of August and already we might have just seen the goal of the season. Dom Ballard’s back-heeled volley against Birmingham City this week – his first goal for Bristol City – was simply sensational. Can it be bettered?
An absolutely glorious finish this week from Amedspor’s Dia Saba against Turkish Süper Lig rivals Erzurumspor. Saba isn’t a name familiar to fans in this country, having spent most of his career in the Middle East, but this goal would grace any stage.
After putting the ball in the net for Cortiba against Chapecoense in the Brazilian Série A this week, Jacy Maranhão did what footballers often do: jumped the advertising hoarding to celebrate with his jubilant public. Jacy hadn’t read the ground’s safety assessment though and promptly fell down a comically placed black hole on the perimeter. Luckily for him he escaped with minor injuries, though VAR did rule out his goal. Ouch.
The South African Premier League got underway this week and TS Galaxy ‘keeper Sipho Maseti got off to an awful start. Luckily for him this brain fog in the 93rd minute didn’t cost his side the points against Siwelele FC. Pre-season cobwebs.
Washington Spirit went top of America’s National Women’s Soccer League this week as we reached the half-way point of the league stage. The Spirit took three points from a tight game at Audi Field against the visiting Denver Summit thanks to this top class effort from Sofia Cantore.
Legendary Polish forward Robert Lewandowski made his debut for MLS side Chicago Fire this week against Inter Miami. And despite being gifted an early lead – thanks to this blunder from Miami keeper Rocco Novo Rios – Lewandowski’s Fire side went on to lose 3-2 as both teams chase spots in the play-offs.
Santos keeper Gabriel Brazao is this week’s ICYMI figure of fun – in a moment of madness against Botofago in Brazil’s Serie A this week, Brazao decided to charge 40 yards out of his box in the 95th minute. His rush of blood to the head wiped out his recovering defender and handed all three points to Rio’s Black and Whites.. His rush of blood to the head wiped out his recovering defender and handed all three points to Rio’s Black and Whites.
While all eyes have been on the World Cup, #ICYMI whisks you to the other side of the world, and the Chinese second division clash between Dalian K’un City and Shenzhen Juniors, for a goal you might not have seen – a cracker from Liu Yun – leaving the opposition keeper bamboozled…
Despite the best efforts of FIFA – with their outrageous ticket pricing and mid-game “hydration breaks” – people have actually managed to thoroughly enjoy World Cup 2026 so far. That’s thanks in part to welcoming locals but also some fantastic action on the pitch, with many a superb goal along the way.
Most eyes may be on the World Cup but the Brasileiro Série B is right in the middle of its league season and there’s everything to play for – as promotion chasing Novorizontino and relegation battlers Ponte Preta showed this week. The game was ultimately decided by one of the stupidest passages of play we’ve ever seen. Defenders, attackers and the goalie all playing their parts.
There’s been loads of great goals in the World Cup already and it’s hard to pick a favourite. But Yasin Ayari’s effort for Sweden against Tunisia – from where his father hails – is a worthy contender. A rocket into the top corner. Jättebra.
World Cup co-hosts Mexico are in fine form – with seven wins and two draws from their last nine games – and if their opponents keep gifting them goals like this idiotic effort from Serbia in a pre-tournament friendly then they may well go far. Here’s hoping.
We won’t be seeing Poland at this summer’s World Cup as they were one of the many big(ish) European teams who underperformed in qualifying. That means Przemyslaw Wisniewski’s hammer of a right foot – seen here delivering a spectacular 95th minute equaliser – will sadly be consigned to post-season kickabouts.
At the weekend the FA’s Women’s National League held their annual awards event and supporters were recognised with a Fan of the Year category, supported by the FSA.
In the last game of the season, FC Andorra’s Marti Villa, and his barely-present goalkeeper Nicolas Ratti, provided us with a late contender for gaff of 2025-26. A deeply comical passage of play from the pair in what was, thankfully for them, a relatively meaningless mid-table kickabout. Enjoy the summer.
It’s the end of a long and tiring season for many players and, let’s face it, who doesn’t fancy an occasional nap during work hours? However, footballers must stay a little more alert, as sleeping in the box can have disastrous consequences.
What’s better than an own goal? An own goal straight from a throw-in the keeper could have left well alone? Check. An own goal that costs you the title in the 98th minute? Of course. An own goal that leaves your €208m-a-year superstar sulking alone on the bench? Love to see it.
Heidenheim are fighting for their lives at the foot of the Bundesliga but still have a chance of staying up with just two games to go. A win away at champions elect (again) Bayern Munich would have been a famous result for the Bavarian minnows but for the very untimely intervention of their ‘keepers head – the tenth minute of stoppage time no less.
