David Beckham curls in a free-kick against Colombia in 1998.

The best goals by United players at a World Cup

Monday 25 June 2018 11:18

Jesse Lingard's wonderful strike in England's 6-1 victory over Panama on Sunday earned FIFA's Goal of the Day award and will, no doubt, be a contender for the finest effort of the group stages.

But is it the greatest ever World Cup finals goal by a Manchester United player? We look back at some of its rivals in this regard...

1. Bobby Charlton (England v Mexico, 1966)
Even if you haven't seen black-and-white footage of this guided missile by the legendary Red, you're sure to have heard the commentary: 'A beauty scored by Bobby Charlton'. By running forward into space, he worked it onto his right foot and unleashed a trademark thunderbolt.

2. Bobby Charlton (England v Portugal, 1966)
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. After already opening the scoring, the influential talisman collected a Geoff Hurst lay-off and unleashed a fierce first-time finish that helped settle the semi-final and set up the final date with West Germany.

Bobby Charlton fires home against Portugal in the 1966 World Cup semi-final.

3. Bryan Robson (England v France, 1982)
The fastest goal in World Cup history, at the time, came after only 27 seconds of the Three Lions' opener in Bilbao. The dynamic midfielder burst into the box unchecked to meet a Terry Butcher flick-on to a long throw-in and acrobatically swept in a left-footed volley.

4. Paul Scholes (England v Tunisia, 1998)
A driving run by Paul Ince led to the ball falling to the United man on the edge of the box with a minute left. He speared a superb drive wide of Chokri El-Ouaer and into the top corner of the net to wrap up a 2-0 victory in the tournament opener for Glenn Hoddle's side.

5. David Beckham (England v Colombia, 1998)
The budding superstar was left out of the side by Hoddle but made up for lost time when belatedly making his first start at a World Cup. A long-range free-kick flew past Faryd Mondragon's despairing dive and sealed a 2-0 triumph.

Paul Scholes scores a belter against Tunisia in 1998.

6. Diego Forlan (Uruguay v Senegal, 2002)
When a clearance fell to him, the blond-haired striker instantly controlled it on his chest and looped a textbook volley that left keeper Tony Sylva with no chance. The South Americans came back from 3-0 down to force a draw that still wasn't enough to qualify.

7. Ji-sung Park (South Korea v Greece, 2010)
The Korean powerhouse sprinted straight through the heart of the defence when robbing Loukas Vyntra and darting towards goal. As Greek no.1 Alexandros Tzorvas approached, he nervelessly slipped a cool finish beyond him for a wonderful solo strike.

8. Robin van Persie (Netherlands v Spain, 2014)
The world champions were stunned by an amazing display by Louis van Gaal's Dutch side, including this memorable header by the Reds marksman. Daley Blind dissected the Spanish defence and van Persie took it first time, diving headlong to nod a unique goal past Iker Casillas.

Robin van Persie's spectacular diving header beats Iker Casillas in 2014.