Haaland's stunning strike against Brazil voted best Round of 16 goal

Erling Haaland's thunderous late strike against Brazil has been voted the best goal of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16, earning a place among the contenders for the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament award.

The Norway striker's second goal in his side's dramatic 2-1 victory over the five-time world champions received 34 per cent of the votes cast by fans on FIFA.com. Haaland finished ahead of Argentina captain Lionel Messi, whose brilliant equaliser against Egypt garnered 25 per cent, while Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi finished third with 16 per cent after his well-worked set-piece goal against Canada.

Haaland has enjoyed a sensational first World Cup, scoring seven goals so far. His winning strike came in the 90th minute after he controlled the ball with successive touches on the edge of Brazil''s penalty area before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot across goalkeeper Alisson and into the bottom corner.

The Manchester City forward had already put Norway ahead in the 79th minute with a towering header before sealing the famous victory with his late winner. Norway survived a stoppage-time Neymar penalty to eliminate Brazil and book a quarter-final against England, with a place in the last four at stake.

The Round of 16 vote is the third stage in determining the Hyundai Goal of the Tournament. FIFA.com users vote within a 48-hour window after each phase of the competition. Two more rounds of voting will follow—after the quarter-finals and combined semi-finals—before a final vote at the end of the tournament decides the overall winner.

Earlier in the competition, Uzbekistan captain Eldor Shomurodov won the group-stage vote for his goal against DR Congo, while Cabo Verde's Sidny Lopes Cabral topped the Round of 32 poll for his spectacular strike against Argentina.