Entertainment

Baby Yoda Reacts To The 18 Best Goals Of The Decade

By Travis Yoesting December 3, 2019
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The 2010s have come and gone. Baby Yoda is here to count down the best goals of the decade.
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The 2010s has been a decade. I can’t say it was great nor will I say it was bad. It was 10 years and as I write this it’s almost over. 

In 10 years, the soccer world saw Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo absolutely dominate the Ballon d’Or, winning all but one since 2008. Real Madrid won a bunch of big-eared trophies, Spain finally won a World Cup and few teams played more beautifully than Barcelona. Perhaps most shocking, England actually fielded a decent team at a World Cup, but Liverpool still hasn’t won a Premier League title. 

The USWNT won two Women’s World Cups while finishing runner-up a third time and yet spent most of the decade fighting for more equal pay. The NWSL has shown the U.S. can support a women’s league longer than four seasons and Europe is becoming a hotbed for women’s football. MLS has expanded from 15 teams in 2009 to have 26 teams in 2020.

But most importantly, this decade gave us Baby Yoda.

And Baby Yoda wants to watch the best goals of the decade.

The18, with the help of Baby Yoda, who as of this writing has not been given a name, has compiled the best goals of the decade, from 2010-2019. While we fully expect some people to remind us the decade actually doesn’t end until Dec. 31, 2020, that’s just weird and we think numbers should mean something.

So with that in mind, here are the 18 best goals of the decade. Note: We only allowed players to be represented once each, because Baby Yoda only has the attention span for one goal per player, and otherwise we’d just have 15 Ronaldo/Messi goals.

Best Goals Of The Decade 2010-2019

18. Mohd Faiz Subri vs. Pahang, 2016 Malaysia Super League

Let’s start off with a banger, the winner of the 2016 Puskás Award. 

17. Billie Simpson vs. Sion Swifts Ladies, 2019 Women’s NIFL Premiership

Billie Simpson: better than Billie Eilish. There, I said it.

16. Giovanni van Bronckhorst vs. Uruguay, 2010 World Cup

The definition of a thunderstrike. One day, Baby Yoda will be able to weild the force in such a manner.

15. Stephanie Roche vs. Wexford Youths, 2013 Irish Women’s National League

Perhaps the greatest three-touch combination on this list. 

14. Benjamin Pavard vs. Argentina, 2018 World Cup Quarterfinal 

France actually trailed Argentina before this rocket en route to the 2018 world title.

13. Daniuska Rodriguez vs. Colombia, 2016 CONMEBOL U-17 Women’s Championship

Nobody was stopping Daniuska. 

12. Olivier Giroud vs. Crystal Palace, 2017 English Premier League

The build-up was great. The finish even better.

11. Deyna Castellanos vs. Cameroon, 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup

Bang.

Castellanos, then a college player, was a finalist for the Best FIFA Women’s Player because of this goal, which is so dumb but also kind of appropriate. 

10. Robin van Persie vs. Spain, 2014 World Cup

The Flying Dutchman equalized against the reigning world champs with one of the most remarkable headers you’ll ever see just before halftime. Then the Netherlands scored four more in the second half for a 5-1 rout. 

9. Homare Sawa vs. USWNT, 2011 World Cup Final

The U.S. was three minutes away from winning it all when Japanese legend Homare Sawa swept in and equalized in extra time before Japan won the 2011 World Cup in a shootout. 

8. Wayne Rooney vs. Manchester City, 2011 Premier League

One of the greatest bicycle kicks of all time helped Manchester United keep its noisy neighbor at bay en route to its 19th league title. 

7. Neymar vs. Flamengo, 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro Séria A

Simply put, the dirtiest, meanest, most disrespectful goal of the decade. 

6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs. England, 2012 Friendly

Zlatan already had a hat trick. Sweden already led England in stoppage time. But this is Zlatan so of course he did this for his fourth goal. 

5. Abby Wambach vs. Brazil, 2011 World Cup Quarterfinal

Moments away from elimination, Megan Rapinoe’s inch-perfect cross found Abby Wambach’s head for a stunning late equalizer in the 122nd minute, the latest goal in World Cup history.

4. James Rodriguez vs. Uruguay, 2014 World Cup

The control, the turn, the power. Yoda would be impressed.

3. Lionel Messi vs. Athletic Bilbao, 2015 Copa del Rey

Perhaps the greatest solo goal since Diego Maradona’s Goal of the Century.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Juventus, 2018 Champions League

He came, he saw, he conquered. So impressed with Cristiano Ronaldo were Juventus fans they couldn’t help but applaud him, and Ronaldo returned the favor by joining the club later that year.

1. Carli Lloyd vs. Japan, 2015 World Cup Final

Are we, as Americans, biased toward Americans by putting Carli Lloyd at No. 1 on this list? Maybe. But America gave the world Baby Yoda and Carli Lloyd gave us the best goal of the decade. 

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