They call soccer the beautiful game, and spectacular moments from its greatest showcase, the World Cup, linger in the mind’s eye like jewels.
Think of Geoff Hurst taking the roof off the net at Wembley to clinch England’s only triumph in 1966; or Argentina’s Diego Maradona dancing the tango with England’s defenders in 1986 before scoring the finest goal in the competition’s history.
Some sports can be conjured from their statistics: baseball, cricket. But soccer — or football, as most of the world knows it — comes alive in eye-catching instants, seconds of unforgettable drama.
