Cape Verde national team star Sidny Lopes Cabral has been awarded the honor of scoring the best goal in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
As announced by FIFA, Sidny Lopes Cabral’s acclaimed goal during extra time against Argentina in the round of 32 game at Miami Gardens was voted the best goal of this year’s competition, competing against 307 other goals scored during the tournament. The goal helped bring Cape Verde to 2-2 during extra time, but the team would eventually lose 3-2 to Argentina, who made it to the final against Spain.
For Complex’s picks for the top 20 goals of the 2026 World Cup, see here. We also ran down the top 10 best saves.
Public voting for the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament honor closed on Monday (July 27), and Lopes Cabral came out on top from a shortlist of 12 goals. After he scored the goal, the joy on his face was abundantly clear as he ran past his teammates to hug his girlfriend and look for his mother in the crowd.
"Before the game, I'd told my mom and my girlfriend that if I scored, I'd run over to them," he said after the game, per ESPN. "When I got there, I saw my mom crying. She hadn't even realized I was right there. Everyone was busy tending to her because she had fainted when I scored."
Cape Verde also faced off against Spain, who won the World Cup, during a tense game that saw neither team score.
