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As the 2026 FIFA World Cup rolls on, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to draw attention as a studio analyst for Fox, it's worth revisiting something magnificent.
Zlatan once scored maybe the greatest goal of all time, and he did it while playing for Sweden against England.
No, it wasn't in a World Cup, but it should've been impossible.
England goalkeeper Joe Hart found himself caught out of the penalty box, and Zlatan knew the net was open.
MORE: The greatest goal in Canada men's soccer history
The problem, for any other human, was that Zlatan was facing away from goal and about 30 yards out.
That was apparently not a problem for Zlatan.
He scored from there with the most absurd bicycle kick ever:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's famous 30-yard bicycle kick Vs. England#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/4UhJJIrCYi— T H A T O 🇿🇦 (@tmadisakwane1) May 10, 2022
MORE: Portugal's usage of Cristiano Ronaldo makes no sense
Frankly, Zlatan should get to talk in the third person as much as he wants after doing that. He should get to lift himself up in any fashion he wants.
There aren't even other humans audacious enough to try that.
And even if there were, would anyone else actually pull it off?
Zlatan is one of one, in pretty much every way -- including in the best goal many people have ever seen.
More FIFA World Cup news:
- USA, England can meet on the biggest World Cup stage
- Why Norway brought 600 pounds of salmon to the World Cup
- Eloy Room leads Curacao to astounding World Cup history
- With Messi, history and magic go hand in hand
- Why Doue brothers play for two different countries at World Cup
Billy Heyen
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive high school sports coverage at the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. When people ask if he's seen a movie, the answer is usually "No, I was probably watching sports." Even away from sports, his main hobby is running (much slower than any athlete in these pages).
Source: Sporting News
