There are few sports that have the power to captivate a critical mass of the global population quite like soccer (aka football) does. And every four years, fans rally behind their nations and experience the highs and lows of the beautiful game in one of the biggest tournaments in the world.
As hype builds for the tournament in Qatar this November, Brian Phillips, Senior Staff Writer for The Ringer, is taking time to revisit some of the most memorable and significant goals of past competitions in the new Spotify Original Podcast 22 Goals.
Premiering today, the weekly podcast will explore those moments on the field that brought joy-or despair-to entire nations. But the show also dives into the cultural impact each of these 22 goals had off the pitch, highlighting how they continue to transcend the game itself.
For the Record sat down with Brian to discuss the inspiration behind the podcast, why big goals leave such an indelible mark on soccer fans, and what listeners can expect from the show as it leads up to the start of the tournament.
Traditionally, lists of great soccer goals have come in video form. What inspired you to explore this idea as a podcast? It's interesting that you ask that question because I was telling my dental hygienist about this podcast, and he was like, That's the worst thing I've ever heard. Nobody wants to listen to you describe the goals with words. But the more I thought about it, I do think that podcasting is the right form for what I'm doing here, because what I really want to do is explore the joy of the game.
A video series can provide a hit of joy really directly because you get to watch the goal and it's like, Oh my God, that's an amazing goal. But I wanted space to talk about where those moments came from and what they mean and how they kind of filter into society and culture. And so the podcast form makes more sense because you can have a longer meditation and talk to listeners in a very intimate or informal way.
It's fascinating that some of the most legendary goals often become more memorable than the matches themselves. Why is it that a single goal has the ability to captivate fans in this way? There are goals that seem more memorable than the matches and there are goals that overshadow loss. I'm thinking about the goal that Netherlands midfielder Dennis Bergkamp scored against Argentina in '98. It's a match that the Netherlands didn't win, and they fell short at the World Cup as they usually end up doing. But that goal just kind of stands out as such a beautiful thing that it almost seems like the rest of the tournament and the rest of the drama kind of fades around just that one moment.
I think soccer has a couple of things going for it that makes it really well suited to provide these kinds of transcendent, euphoric just out-of-your-head sort of experiences. I think for one thing, it's really hard to score in soccer. There's this kind of frustration algorithm at work where you're building up this anticipation for tens of minutes at a time while teams are trying to score. And then when it finally happens, even a relatively routine goal feels like a huge deal. I think the other thing is that soccer is probably the closest we come to a sport that is universal. So when something big happens in a World Cup, it's like a breakthrough that you're sharing with a vast percentage of the world's population. It's a recipe for these moments to become meaningful.
As fans sit down and listen to each episode, what can they expect in terms of storytelling? Each goal is like the climax of a story. And so the episodes are really just about telling those stories and trying to use those stories to talk about things that were going on in the history of soccer, history of the world, around those moments. But mostly it's just like if you take the goal as the high point of a story, then what is the story that comes before that, and how does it lead to this? We all know the moment is coming. In most of the episodes, I say at the very beginning, This is the goal. And you know what the ending is in advance, but it's just about the journey.
Every goal on this list is obviously well-known to some extent, but are there any with a mythology or backstory that might surprise fans? I think it's probably the case that the older the goal is, the less people will know about it. Particularly for fans like me who didn't grow up with the game and caught the train fairly late. So one goal that I think American listeners are going to really enjoy hearing about is, it was scored by Joe Gaetjens in 1950. He was a Haitian player who played due to some weird loopholes at the time for the U.S. national team. And he scored a goal that allowed the United States to accomplish perhaps the biggest upset in World Cup history. And I just don't think most people in America know about it. I didn't even know about it until fairly recently. I feel like people are going to really flip over it because it's an incredible story.
And then the other episode that comes to mind is about England in 1966 and the goal scored by Geoff Hurst that helped them win the World Cup. But a whole lot of that episode focuses on the history of the theft of the World Cup trophy in London, when it was on display at a stamp exhibition. There was this whole heist and it vanished. And then it was rediscovered in a really fun way. That's a pretty well-known story for a lot of people, but I think it's just so kooky and fun that people are going to get into that.
Do you have any predictions for who might score the next iconic goal in Qatar later this year? Before I answer that question, I should acknowledge that there are literally octopi who have a better record of predicting World Cup outcomes. The future is
Europe Stories
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
16/09/2025
Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...
16/09/2025
A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...
16/09/2025
Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...
16/09/2025
Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...
16/09/2025
Leading space solutions company will use optical ground stations to deliver faster, more secure data from space
Luxembourg, September 15, 2025 - SES, a leading...
16/09/2025
Comscore Unveils The Scoreboard: An Interactive Destination Surfacing Consumer B...
15/09/2025
Global K-Pop sensation aespa is redefining what it means to be rich with the r...
15/09/2025
Every day, millions of people around the world turn to Spotify to enjoy the audi...
15/09/2025
After months of intensive planning and implementation, Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic...
15/09/2025
Unique sports content orchestration platform builds momentum among SES's cus...
15/09/2025
-- Opens door to growth in renewable energy New Delhi, India - 15th September -- Global business and industry leaders from around the world are joining technol...
13/09/2025
Harmonic's Software-Based XOS Advanced Media Processor Provides Unparalleled Efficiency and Unlocks New Business Models SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 13, 2025 -...
12/09/2025
For fans, we know how important it is to stay plugged into music culture and dis...
12/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden and Shipley, United Kingdom, September 12, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability and analytics for service quality and customer expe...
12/09/2025
Feature-length retrospective from Studio Crook to air in 2026
Sir David Jason returns to the nation's favourite comedy channel, U&GOLD, for Open All Hours:...
12/09/2025
Friday 12 September 2025
The Boomtown Rats, Nyah Grace, Soweto Kinch, Royal Ballet and Madness also announced to perform at the ceremony on Tuesday
Sky today ...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Unveils Ultra-Light Bolero Mini Wireless Intercom BeltpackAt IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero M...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Communications Acquires hi human interfaceRiedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface fro...
12/09/2025
CORE+ virtually removes distortion, setting a new standard for church sound and giving worship teams the clarity and confidence they need.
Read the full artic...
12/09/2025
The Late Late Show is back with a bang after the summer break, and Patrick Kielt...
12/09/2025
The World Athletics Championships, Ireland v France in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final, the Irish Champions Festival, and two Sports Direct Men...
12/09/2025
The Records Show starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player.
Katie Hanno...
11/09/2025
RADAR, Spotify's program for emerging talent, recently hit a major milestone...
11/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden, September 11, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability & analytics for service quality and customer experience, announced today the la...
11/09/2025
Under the USD 89.6 Million award, SES Space & Defense will provide global commer...
11/09/2025
Leading Balkan DTH provider adds capacity to consolidate its m:Sat TV platform at 23.5 degrees East and serve more customers across the region
Luxembourg, 11 S...
11/09/2025
UKTV's free streaming service U launches on Sky Q
Free streaming service U has launched on Sky Q in the UK, UKTV and Sky confirm today, expanding the footp...
11/09/2025
From the discreet 2061 lavaliers to 4099 and 4011 mics, the setup delivered clean, natural sound in one of the most challenging broadcast environments.
Read th...
11/09/2025
From rugged build quality to natural, detailed sound, the verdict is clear: big performance can come in a very small package.
Read the full review here!...
11/09/2025
Tonight on Prime Time
RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
Tonight RT Prime Time...
11/09/2025
RT Statement: 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
At the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns ...
10/09/2025
Lossless on Spotify Premium is here.
Lossless audio has been one of the most a...
10/09/2025
The Television Will Be Revolutionised Sep 10, 2025
Written by Sunit Kotecha, Director of Delivery and Operations, YouView
2025 marks a century since the f...
10/09/2025
First of Spains F110 frigates get future-ready with Rohde & Schwarz communicatio...
10/09/2025
Harmonic's cOS Platform Supports DOCSIS and Fiber, Enabling Midco to Deliver Reliable Multi-Gigabit Connectivity to Subscribers SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 10,...
10/09/2025
RT brings three days of live radio, live entertainment, live news, live weather, personal appearances, and more
Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, The Oliver ...
09/09/2025
Since 2020, Spotify's RADAR program has been a launchpad for emerging talent...
09/09/2025
In 2020, Spotify launched RADAR with a clear mission: to identify, nurture, and ...
09/09/2025
If you're on BookTok, you know the drill. You scroll, you tap, and suddenly your To Be Read list is overflowing with trending must-reads. Not unlike Spoti...
09/09/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
09/09/2025
Harmonic's VOS360 Ad SaaS Enables Personalized Ad Delivery and Seamless Integration with the Ad Tech Ecosystem SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 9, 2025 - Harmonic ...
09/09/2025
St. Luke's Episcopal Church in New Jersey needed audio that truly connects and they found the answer.
Read the full case study here!...
09/09/2025
From AI-driven sound design to adaptable systems and uncompromising audio quality, the discussion highlights how innovation is shaping the future of performance...
09/09/2025
The conversation covers DPA's natural, uncolored sound, how to choose the right mic for any application and the company's latest innovations including C...
09/09/2025
From the origins of CORE to the latest CORE+ upgrade, the article explores how DPA minimizes distortion, expands dynamic range and ensures clarity at every SPL ...
09/09/2025
September 9 2025, 07:22 (PDT) Dolby Revolutionizes Entertainment on Four Wheels...
09/09/2025
The Autumn Schedule has begun on RT Raidi na Gaeltachta, with a feast of music, entertainment, news and current affairs programmes as well as an interesting s...
There are few sports that have the power to captivate a critical mass of the global population quite like soccer (aka football) does. And every four years, fans rally behind their nations and experience the highs and lows of the beautiful game in one of the biggest tournaments in the world. 
