World Cup's 101 Most Memorable Moments: Esteban Cambiasso finishes team goal
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
Editor's note: Each day between now and the kickoff of the first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Nov. 20, we'll unveil a different memory from World Cup history. The countdown from 101 continues with Argentina's master class in sharing the ball.
How stacked was this quartet at Germany 2006? Of the six matches contested by Argentina, Ivory Coast, the Netherlands and Serbia and Montenegro in the dreaded "Group of Death," five were decided by one goal.
The outlier was Argentina-Serbia. One of the World Cup favorites that year, the two-time former champion Albiceleste hung the most lopsided defeat of the tournament on the Serbians, who competed as one team for the first and last time with Montenegro. (The latter had declared its independence as a sovereign state just before the competition kicked off.)
The 6-0 scoreline came out of nowhere. Serbia and Montenegro suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to the Dutch in their opener, but they had no answers for Argentina. Maxi Rodríguez scored twice, and an 18-year-old named Lionel Messi completed the rout in the 88th minute.
But the Albiceleste’s utter domination was encapsulated by Esteban Cambiasso’s first half strike, which came at the end of a sequence involving 25 passes. It remains one of the great team goals of all time.
La Albiceleste run circles around Serbia
One of the leading soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
