The 10 Best 'Why Did He Shoot From There?' Moments in Football History

The 10 Best 'Why Did He Shoot From There?' Moments in Football History

"Why did he shoot from there?" - It's a saying often heard rippling around football stadiums across the world.

It fits in with both those horrendous misses, and those absolute screamers that leave you in awe.

Think centre backs advancing, wingers at the byline, or big moments where you just wonder what is going through a player's head.

We have all witnessed them, but have you ever wondered what the top 10 of all time are?

Well, don't fret, because we've got you covered.

Here are Football Park's top 10 football moments that make you question "Why did he shoot from there?" - without further ado, let's get into it.

10. Didier Drogba vs Barcelona

During Chelsea's eventual victory over Barcelona in the knockout phase of the 2012 Champions League campaign, there is one forgotten moment which makes this list.

That's also not me saying it should be remembered, by the way…

But when Didier Drogba won the ball back off Isaac Cuenca (I'd never heard of him either; he was only there for one season) deep inside his own half, the expectation would have been to recycle the ball and calm things down.

Instead, what followed was a marauding run which saw Drogba leave a couple of defenders for dead, including Carlos Puyol, and power beyond the halfway line.

Drogba looked out of options, and in hindsight he probably was, so he decided to unleash a strike which was never going in but did have Victor Valdez scrambling across his goal from about 60 yards out.

If it had gone in, it would have been arguably the greatest goal of all time. Instead, we are just left wondering what on earth possessed him in that moment.

9. Cameron Carter-Vickers vs Kilmarnock

Toward the back end of the season, Celtic found themselves 2-0 up inside 20 minutes at home to Kilmarnock and were, quite frankly, in cruise control.

So when Cameron Carter-Vickers, their big centre half, received the ball just inside the opposition half and stepped forward, most expected him to look for an option to keep the ball.

why did he shoot from there😭😭 pic.twitter.com/vFbQlTItat

— kee🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🍀 (@98kxe) April 12, 2025

In fact, such was the shock of the subsequent event, it wouldn't have shocked me if most had taken the opportunity to go and get a brew.

What followed was a thunderbolt which careered across the pitch and grazed the underside of the crossbar on its way into the top corner.

Search up 'worldie' on Google, and it'll just return a video of this goal. Beautiful.

8. Sully Muntari vs Uruguay

I mean, this one was just insane.

The ball, a Jabulani I must add, bounced around in the middle of the park before landing at Muntari's feet.

One swivel to set himself, and with literally 10 Uruguayan players behind the ball, Muntari let rip.

pic.twitter.com/QlrC93TARE

— Boakye Mensah🇿🇦🇬🇭 (@boakyemensah11) October 23, 2025

A swerving ball hit from about 50 yards which bounced just inside the 6-yard box and beat the goalkeeper to the bottom corner.

It was a goal that caught everybody playing and watching off guard and was then topped off by an iconic Ghanaian celebration fitting of the World Cup stage.

Iconic.

7. Hakan Calhanoglu vs Dortmund

Calhanoglu is pretty well known for his potency with set pieces.

But nobody expected this one; in fact, Dortmund didn't even bother with a wall. That's how unlikely the goal was.

44 yards out. Centre of the pitch. Up stepped Calhanoglu.

“Why did he shoot from there?”
Literally the best example.
BECAUSE He IS HAKAN ÇALHANOĞLU.
Way way off, and the goalkeeper couldn't do anything.
Pure Golazooo.
Even Jürgen Klopp couldn’t hide that grin — pure respect for a moment of magic. 🔥pic.twitter.com/LfhoiIcTpj https://t.co/wjyoYihDN6

— AyushOnX (@a_yushsinha13) October 29, 2025

Roman Weidenfeller in the BVB net saw the ball all the way as it left the Turk's right boot, but could only retreat in frantic helplessness as the ball swerved like a Chinese dragon in the wind (yes, I did just make that an analogy) before nestling into the onion bag.

It has since gone down as one of the best free kicks football has ever seen, but the best part was, his teammates seemed to know exactly what was going on and weren't even shocked when it hit the net.

Take a bow, Hakan Calhanoglu.

6. Cristiano Ronaldo vs Arsenal

Right, I'm not going to lie to you, this is only ahead of Calhanoglu's goal because of its fame… Not that it was a bad free kick, of course.

There was a wall for this one, but I think that was more because it was Ronaldo than anything else.

Once again it was over 40 yards from goal, edging toward the right-hand side of the pitch. It seemed an almost impossible angle and range to shoot from, but that didn't deter CR7.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Arsenal (2007/08)

The audacity of a 23 year old to score such worldie in a UCL semi-final🥵pic.twitter.com/S1tHabjeIT

— Sewyyy (@SewyyyRMFC) March 25, 2024

Three steps back, into that famous wide stance with a deep breath. Ronaldo ran straight onto the ball and thumped a vicious strike which seemed to break the sound barrier before leaving the keeper stunned as it hit the net.

It was a ridiculous goal, in no less than a Champions League semi-final.

And, not that this should take away from the goal at all, it kind of is just what he does, isn't it?

5. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst vs Uruguay

This is the second goal scored against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup with the Jabulani. Coincidence? I think not.

This one has "Why?" written all over it for a multitude of reasons.

To begin with, it happened in the 18th minute, with the game 0-0 at the time, in none other than a World Cup semi-final.

Secondly, it came from a left-back who had five goals in 104 international appearances.

Thirdly, Giovanni van Bronckhorst was 35 years old at the time… the greatest goal ever scored by an unc?

pic.twitter.com/8VGCUI83xU

— LukaMoreira (@VladiMoreira) October 16, 2025

When the veteran defender got the ball inside his own half and was given freedom to advance into the Uruguay half.

Then, from 40 yards (yes, you read that right), and with goalkeeper Muslera expecting anything but an effort on goal, the Dutch captain unleashed a rocket which nestled straight into the top left-hand corner.

It surprised the opposition, his teammates, and millions worldwide; I think he even surprised himself.

4. Vincent Kompany vs Leicester

"Where do you want your statue, Vincent Kompany?!" remarked Gary Neville on commentary as Vincent Kompany hammered a piledriver into the net from every bit of 25 yards out.

But this wasn't just any goal; it marked the winner in a game which put City within touching distance of winning the Premier League title in consecutive seasons.

Why he decided to hit one, nobody knows. In fact, even Sergio Aguero screamed, "No Vinny, no. Don't shoot!" as his captain lined up for the strike.

this trigger from vincent kompany against Leicester city “was meant just to win manchester city the second consecutive premier league under pep” pic.twitter.com/dUHJHMDiO7 https://t.co/laEaX9zy76

— • (@Mci_tony_) October 8, 2025

But the unlikely effort ended up creating one of the most memorable goals in Premier League history.

It also sparked one of the worst fan decisions in Premier League history too. Remember that image of the fan walking up the steps out of the stadium, who missed seeing one of the most special moments in his club's history with his own eyes?

Yeah, if that isn't a lesson to never leave the game early, I don't know what is. Sucks to be him…

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs England

Ibra is well known for his braggadocious ways and, well, essentially just loving himself.

But in all fairness, if I were scoring goals like this one, I think I'd love myself as well.

Zlatan actually scored four in this game, which was ironic, as the English media had been heavily critiquing him for weeks prior.

That is a stat which is often forgotten, purely for how good this one goal was.

Ball dropping over your head, 30 yards out, with a good bit of space around you. The sane thing to do would be to take the ball down and look to create something with the space, right? Well, the safe option simply wasn't in Zlatan's nature.

11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic vs England pic.twitter.com/1Ov81ysVfe

— Amin (@TheAminFCB2) July 3, 2024

Instead, in one of the most outrageous efforts in football history, Ibra leapt into the air and sprung a bicycle kick upon the stranded Joe Hart, who, despite his best efforts, could only watch on as the ball looped over his head and bounced over the line.

It was a delicious goal, one that left the entire stadium bewildered, and one that shut the mouth of every single media outlet that had ever said a bad word about the big Swede.

2. Thomas Partey vs Bournemouth

Arsenal vs Southampton felt like a massive moment in the 2023 title race.

Arsenal needed a win after back-to-back poor results, so when the game got to 3-3 with only injury time remaining, the tension inside the Emirates Stadium was palpable.

A Leandro Trossard strike in the 92nd minute would leave the crossbar reverberating, just furthering the frantic need for a goal.

That Partey shot in the 95th min that exited the stratosphere pic.twitter.com/DjbXTzaE7Y

— ben (@ben_59) October 23, 2025

Then, in the final minute of added time, Thomas Partey received the ball.

He stepped forward into the Bournemouth half, and with options left, right and in front of him, he chose the only logical option and had a shot…

Now, unlike the rest of the goals on this list, the strike didn't quite go to plan; in fact, the shot from 40 yards out went about 40 yards over the bar to the sound of frustrated groans and, quite frankly, shouts of utter disbelief at the actions of the Ghanaian.

If this was a list purely on strikes that didn't go in, there wouldn't even be a competition for first place. It would unanimously be Thomas Partey.

1. Maicon vs Korea DPR

Maicon vs North Korea in the 2010 World Cup gets the number 1 spot.

None of this 40-yard screamer stuff like most of the list; this one is pure technique, innovation and footballing brilliance (not that the 40-yarders aren't).

A ball into the channel by Elano to an onrushing Maicon had a little too much juice but held up in the grass just enough for the fullback to reach it.

Maicon’s goal vs North Korea at the 2010 World Cup. 🇧🇷🇰🇵

Great finish or bad goalkeeping?💭

pic.twitter.com/akkyDN81WV

— AllThingsBrazil™ (@SelecaoTalk) March 8, 2024

Hovering over the byline, if Maicon had looked up, he would have seen a box filled with yellow Brazilian shirts lying in wait to poke home a reverse pass across the box.

But instead of doing what everyone expected, in a moment of pure ingenuity, Maicon had a quick glance up, saw the North Korean goalkeeper straying slightly too far off his line and, without a second thought, unleashed a trivela which bent, swerved and threaded its way through the smallest of gaps to nestle into the back of the net.

It was a special goal, a moment that put into perspective just how good professional footballers really are, and most importantly, a moment which left us wondering: Why on earth did he shoot from there?!