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The quality of actual soccer has been high with Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, and Cristiano Ronaldo all hitting the ground running in the race for the Golden Boot.
But the 2018 World Cup is yet to produce one iconic photograph that sums up a match, or even the competition as a whole.
When most kids are 17, they are hitting balls against the garage door. Not Pelé. The Brazil striker introduced himself to the entire world at the 1958 World Cup when he was just a teenager. Pelé scored six goals at the tournament, including a brace in the final against host nation Sweden — a 5-2 win for Brazil. He remains, to this day, the youngest player to score in a World Cup final.
Do not adjust your mobile, desktop, or whatever device you are using to access this web-page. Your eyes are not deceiving you. This is a photo of England's Geoff Hurst — but he appears headless. He does, of course, have a head and was seen celebrating having scored against Argentina in the 1966 quarterfinal. Getty says this photo is iconic because of its imperfection, thus demonstrating the pace of the game.
You didn't think we'd actually miss out Zidane's headbutt, did you? While the action has been seen over and over, one of the more iconic images is the lonely walk of shame the Frenchman had to take immediately after ramming his forehead into Materazzi's sternum. What makes it sadder, is the World Cup trophy in the background — it could have been his (again)!
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This looks like a goal, right? Wrong! It wasn't given and England midfielder Frank Lampard was forced to rue a missed opportunity against goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. This was long before the days of Video Assistant Referees, and England were eventually defeated 4-1 by Germany.
Spain won its first and only World Cup title in 2010, but it needed extra-time to defeat the Netherlands in the tournament final. Had it not been for Andrés Iniesta, the score may have been different as the midfielder struck in the 116th minute. After the goal, he ripped his shirt off to reveal this message: "Dani Jarque siempre con nosotros," a tribute to Spain's former captain who died from a heart attack one year before.
"The Flying Dutchman" may usually be associated with the famous ghost ship, but in 2014, it was an apt moniker for striker Robin van Persie. Van Persie scored an incredible mid-flight header to help the Netherlands beat Spain, the reigning champions, by an extraordinary 5-1 score.
