Goals from outside the area are missing in the World Cup in Qatar.
At the end of the first round of the group stage, with 16 games played, none of the 32 teams managed to celebrate a goal scored after a long-distance kick – not even Spain or England, who won by a rout (7-0 and 6 to 2, respectively).
All 41 goals in the opening round, the first by Ecuadorian Enner Valencia, from the penalty spot, and the last by Brazilian Richarlison, in a beautiful volley, came from the space where the goalkeeper can catch the ball with his hands.
In the World Cup held four years ago, in Russia, right in the opening game, in which the hosts thrashed Saudi Arabia –today with another status, after overcoming Argentina– by 5-0, a goal like this has already been seen: Golovin, foul.
In addition to him, seven other players scored in long shots, including the Brazilian Philippe Coutinho in the selection’s debut match, 1-1 against Switzerland – which will be Brazil’s opponent in the second round of the first phase on Monday (28). in Qatar.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who on Thursday (24th) scored a penalty goal against Ghana that made him the first player to score in five World Cups, in Portugal’s debut game in the Russian World Cup, 3-3 against Spain, scored two goals from outside the area.
Bad aim, including from stars like Messi and Neymar, who wasted chances on free kicks, has been the main factor preventing teams from scoring from outside the area.
Attempts were made, but the ball went crooked – a lot of times, it went up and ended up in the hands of fans who were in one of the eight World Cup stadiums, sitting behind one of the goals.
Other shots taken from a distance of more than 16.5 meters were blocked by goalkeepers or deflected by defenders.
And there were occasions when the beam proved to be the enemy of those who took risks from afar, such as the Brazilians Alex Sandro and Casemiro in the 2-0 against Serbia and the Uruguayan Valverde in the 0-0 against South Korea.
This Friday (25th), the same 32 teams start the second round, and the challenge of being the first to celebrate a goal in a shotgun is up.
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