Goalkeepers don’t usually get to bask in the glory of scoring, but sometimes, when the wind and the situation on the pitch is just right, miracles can happen.
Being a goalkeeper can be a thankless job. They spend the majority of matches confined to the 18-yard box—even though roaming is allowed, they would be leaving the goal undefended—and they don’t usually get to score unless they happen to be involved in a free kick or penalty shot.
But being kept to the far side of the pitch certainly didn’t stop the goalkeepers listed here from putting the ball in the opposing side’s net. Here are the ten most jaw-dropping goals made by goalkeepers shooting from their own penalty area, plus a few honourable mentions (ranked in order of increasing distance).
#10. Tomohiko Murayama: Matsumoto Yamaga v Montedio Yamagata (2013 J.League Division 2)
This list is started off just right with Matsumoto Yamaga goalkeeper Tomohiko Murayama demonstrating the ideal goal kick. Taken at the edge of the penalty area, with the courtesy of time given for the opposing team to position themselves, and with the trajectory of the ball ending in the goal like a stone skipping across a pond.
#9. Mark Weir: Wichita v Shreveport Rafters (2016 NPSL)
While the first entry of this list was a textbook example of a goal kick performed with composure and measured care, Mark Weir’s shining moment was almost reflexive and instinctual. Snatching the ball from mid-air, Weir sends it into an empty net with a dropkick, even with most of both teams still milling about his zone.
#8. Jasurbek Umrzakov: North Korea v Uzbekistan (2016 AFC U-16)
Uzbekistan’s goalkeeper Umrzakov seemed to arrive at this moment through a burst of inspiration that occurred just as he was about to throw the ball back into play. Deciding instead to give it a dropkick, the move paid off with the North Korean goalkeeper scrambling, tripping over more than once, and ending up face-down at his goal line.
#7. Neco Martinez: Poland v Colombia (2006 FIFA World Cup Warm-Up Friendly)
Neco Martinez of Colombia makes this list with one of the strongest kicks seen. The ball hit terminal velocity high above midfield, disappearing from the frame of the camera, before landing with such speed that it bounced over the opposing goalkeeper’s head and went into the net after glancing off the top bar.
#6. Jung Sung-Ryong: South Korea v Ivory Coast (2008 U-23 Friendly)
With a goalless match between South Korea and Ivory Coast entering the 40th minute, Jung Sung-Ryong boots the ball from the edge of the penalty area and sends it low into the opposing goal—and despite seeing the ball’s approach, the other side’s goalkeeper could not prevent it from bouncing into the net.
#5. Mohd Syamsuri Mustafa: Vietnam v Malaysia (2003 SEA Games U-23)
This moment, from when the Malaysian national football team went to Vietnam for the 2003 SEA Games, made Syamsuri the first Malaysian goalkeeper to score a goal in an international match—and as far as we know, he’s still the only one.
#4. Andy Lonergan: Leicester City v Preston North End (2004–05 EFL)
Lonergan takes his time to plot his course of action in this 2004-05 Football League Championship match against Leicester City, using the sun on his back to blind the opposing defenders and the goalkeeper as his drop kick sends the ball bouncing into the net.
#3. Tim Howard: Everton v Bolton Wanderers (2011-12 FA Premier League)
Howard stops an advance in its tracks by sending a loose ball back into Bolton territory with a relaxed kick and walking back to his post. He doesn’t even celebrate the goal, only turning back to glance at the commotion he caused with his, perhaps unintentional, humiliation of his Hungarian counterpart, Ádám Bogdán.
#2 Matias Dituro: Bolívar v San José (2017 Torneo Apertura)
Everything about this moment was beautifully fluid. Dituro doesn’t even take a moment to think or wait for opposing players to leave the area. After leaping to catch the ball in midair and stopping an advance, he immediately proceeds to drop-kick it straight into an unguarded net.
#1 Asmir Begović: Stoke City v Southampton (2012–13 FA Premier League)
Asmir Begović tops this list of the most awesome of goals scored by a goalkeeper on account of the distance, air-time, and the almost instinctive flow of decisions made. Begović didn’t even stop to pick up the ball and set up his kick, he didn’t even wait for opposing players to vacate the penalty area—it was as though all the planets were aligned just right for this to happen the way it did.
Honourable Mentions
Paul Robinson: Tottenham Hotspur v Watford (2006-07 FA Premier League)
Shortly after becoming one of five goalkeepers to have scored a goal in Premier League history, Robinson was panned for a string of less-than-stellar performances—and regrettably became more known for his slip-ups than for the rare miracle that was this goal against Watford in 2007.
David Bingham: San Jose Earthquakes v West Bromwich Albion (2011-12 Premier League Pre-Season Friendly)
After sliding in to take possession of the ball, and patiently waiting for opposing players to get out of his house, San Jose goalkeeper David Bingham aborts a throw-in and opts for a long kick instead. Bingham’s kick sends the ball from penalty area to penalty area, and with the setting sun in the opposing goalkeeper Boaz Myhill’s eyes, the ball went bouncing unopposed into the goal to the delight of 7,000 Santa Clarans. Watch the moment here.
Koo Sang-Min: Ulsan Dolphins v Gimhae City (2014 K2 League)
Were it not for the fact that this goal occurred in a largely empty stadium, Ulsan Dolphins goalkeeper Koo Sang-Min would be in the top slot of this list. The ball took off from the edge of the goal box and remained airborne until it landed just in front of the opposing side’s penalty area—making it one of the longest goal kicks ever captured on video.
Kevin Eichenberger reckons the goalkeeper position should be rotating just to shake things up a bit.