20 Best FIFA World Cup Goals Ever
6. Saeed Al Owairan - Saudi Arabia Vs Belgium (1994)
There are great World Cup goals scored by legendary players and then there are others that come from players you had never previously heard of.
Saudi number 10 Saeed Al Owairan spent his entire career at one club, Al-Shabab in his home city of Riyadh, and never much caught the attention of football crowds across the world, except for one moment on the biggest stage where he scored a solo goal reminiscent of Diego Maradona at his very best.
It was Saudi Arabia's final group game of the 1994 World Cup. They were playing Belgium and a win would send them through to the knock-out stages for the first time in their history.
Just five minutes into the game in Washington DC, Owairan picked the ball up inside his own half and embarked on a thrusting 75-yard run. Shrugging off diving lunges from Belgium's Dirk Medved and Michel De Wolf like they were nothing, Owairan made for the opposing goal where he nutmegged centre back Rudi Smidts and slipped the ball passed Michel Preud'homme, the highly rated Belgian goalkeeper. Not a single other Saudi player took part in the move and yet Owairan left a trail of Belgians bamboozled with his skill.
It was the only goal of the match and the Saudi team made it through to the last 16. And, just for a brief moment, Saeed Al Owairan was the name on every football fan's lips.