40 Greatest Goals in World Cup History: #39 Teofilo Cubillas - Peru vs Scotland ('78)

No one quite did freekicks like Zico. The Brazilian magician could swerve, curl, pass, or plain ol' belt them in from nigh on any range... but when asked for what the "perfect" freekick was, he chose none of his.

Instead, he pointed to this one from the 1978 FIFA World Cup:

Look at it, revel in the joy of it. The dummy, the dead-straight run-up, the nonchalant flick of the right boot... the ball hitting the outside of said boot. A trivela, that most arrogant of footballing skills.

Ah! Ricky Quaresma, eat your heart out.

Even the Scottish commentator can't quite suppress the natural burst of joy witnessing such sporting magnificence brings about it in anyone with a functional adrenal gland. It was so thrillingly visceral.

Jose Chilavert, 13 at the time, would later say, "When I saw that goal I decided that I wanted to take free-kicks too.”

Cubillas was an underrated great of the game - he ran that match against Scotland, as he did most he played in - a man Pele called his successor (that man's curse again, sigh), a freekick taker extraordinaire nurtured by one of the greatest exponents of the art ever, Didi (who was coach of the Andean nation in the 70's), Peru's greatest ever.

He played in three World Cups, was named the Young Player Award in '70, and was the talisman for his nation. This World Cup, '18, is the first one the Andeans have qualified for since the great man decided to hang up his boots.

He was a prolific scorer from midfield - banging in 268 in 469 first division matches in Peru and 26 in 81 for his national team... but none of them is quite as good as this one, no.39 on our list of 40 Greatest Goals in World Cup History