10 Talking Points From The First Round Of World Cup 2018 Group Games

Is there a more beautiful sight in football than a perfectly-placed free kick hitting the back of the net? Striking a set piece over or around a wall of defenders and past the keeper isn't just a skill, it's an art, and we've seen some masters at work in the World Cup so far.

While previous World Cups were memorable for their lack of set piece goals, often due to the unreliability of the balls being used, Russia 2018 has seen four goals scored from direct free kicks in just the first round of group games!

We saw our very first free kick goal in the opening game, with Russia's young midfield maestro, Aleksandr Golovin, curling a magnificent and well-deserved strike into the net to cap off a fine win for the host nation. Cristiano Ronaldo's dramatic 88th minute free kick helped to seal a 3-3 draw with Spain on the very next day.

Later on, we saw Serbia's Aleksandar Kolarov smash in one of his trademark free kicks to earn his nation three points against Costa Rica, and Juan Fernando Quintero scored one of the cheekiest free kicks of them all, sending the ball underneath the jumping wall and over the line in Colombia's 2-1 loss against Japan.