10 Best Golazos from World Football for Weekend of September 6-7
Europe's biggest leagues may have only just started up, but they took a backseat to international duty over the weekend.
Despite the domestic disruption, the plethora of international friendlies and tournament qualification games delivered plenty of golazos, and the leagues which kept going through the break—including MLS—didn't disappoint.
Neymar leads our list of the best goals of the weekend, with his game-winning free kick from Friday night...
Neymar (Brazil) vs. Colombia
1 of 10On Friday night there was a South American battle in South Florida, as Brazil took on Colombia in Miami.
The friendly match was anything but friendly, with plenty of heated moments and a red card for Colombia's Juan Cuadrado.
Neymar enjoyed a very good evening, which started with a reconciliation with Juan Zuniga, the man who caused his back injury at the World Cup. The Barcelona star—acting as Selecao captain for the first time—capped off a fine performance with a brilliant free kick goal in the 82nd minute, which was enough to secure Dunga his first win in his second spell as Brazil manager.
John Guidetti (Sweden) vs. Greece
2 of 10John Guidetti was recently sent out on loan for the fifth consecutive time by his parent club Manchester City, and it appears that Celtic will be rubbing their hands with glee over their newly acquired player.
In an U21 tie between Sweden and Greece on Friday evening, the 22-year-old forward scored the first goal in a 3-0 Swedish victory with a perfectly placed free kick from nearly 30 yards out.
Milan Badelj (Fiorentina) vs. Lugano
3 of 10See the goal from [0.15] in the clip
Fiorentina played a friendly against Swiss side Lugano on Friday night, handing a debut to new signing Milan Badelj.
The Croatian midfielder got off to a dream start in the ninth minute of the match, when he latched onto a rebounded Alberto Aquilani free kick and rifled an unstoppable volley into the top-right corner.
Thierry Henry (NY Red Bulls) vs. Sporting Kansas City
4 of 10Thierry Henry scored his eighth goal of the 2014 MLS season in style on Saturday, bagging the winner in New York's 2-1 win over Kansas City.
The Frenchman collected the ball on the edge of the Kansas box and smashed a beautiful shot into the top-right corner, despite the four defenders who appeared to be blocking his sight line.
At 37 years old, Henry is clearly still producing the magic.
Gervinho (Ivory Coast) vs Sierra Leone
5 of 10The Ivory Coast came back from a goal down against Sierra Leone on Saturday to win 2-1. The winner in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier came in the 68th minute, courtesy of a superb run and finish from Gervinho.
After enjoying an excellent season with Roma last season, in which he scored nine goals, the Ivorian striker certainly seems to be shaking off the poor reputation he endured at Arsenal.
Juan Cazares (Ecuador) vs Bolivia
6 of 10Football fans in Fort Lauderdale, Florida were treated to a rampant display from Ecuador during a friendly with Bolivia on Saturday evening.
La Tricolor emerged 4-0 winners, with the best goal coming in the 34th minute from the right boot of Juan Cazares. The midfielder, currently plying his trade at Argentinean side Banfield, unleashed an unstoppable curling shot from the edge of the box that looped perfectly over Bolivian keeper Romel Quinonez.
Tornike Okriashvili (Georgia) vs. Republic of Ireland
7 of 10Aiden McGeady struck twice to give Ireland a 2-1 win over Georgia in their first Euro 2016 qualifier on Sunday (more on Mr McGeady shortly).
However, Georgian midfielder Tornike Okriashvili made his mark on the occasion by scoring an absolute Bobby Dazzler to equalise seven minutes before half time.
Picking up the ball around 30 yards from goal, the Genk player skilfully fought off the advances of two defenders before unleashing a lovely dipping shot that David Forde could only watch hit the back of his net.
Aiden McGeady (Republic of Ireland) vs. Georgia
8 of 10Ireland left it until very late to ensure a winning start to their European Championships campaign, with the aforementioned Aiden McGeady making it 2-1 in the final minute of normal time.
The Everton winger bamboozled the Georgia defence with some lovely footwork and a brilliant turn on the edge of the box, before placing a masterful left-footed shot past the goalkeeper.
Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia) vs. France
9 of 10Having already qualified for Euro 2016 as hosts, France visited Belgrade on Sunday for a friendly encounter with Serbia.
Paul Pogba opened the scoring in the first half but Aleksandar Kolarov earned the home side a draw with a bullet strike past Hugo Lloris. His Premier League colleague Branislav Ivanovic set up the strike with a cheeky dummy free kick attempt.
Bekim Balaj (Albania) vs. Portugal
10 of 10Portugal's Euro 2016 campaign got off to a disastrous start in Aveiro on Sunday evening, with a 1-0 loss to Albania.
The Balkan side are 70th in the FIFA rankings—59 places below the Seleccao—and they pulled off an unlikely victory thanks to a brilliant volley from Bekim Balaj in the 52nd minute.
A cross from Odise Roshi landed behind the Slavia Prague forward, but he still managed to hook a superb shot past Rui Patricio in the Portuguese goal.
