Top 5 Goals: The April Women’s International Break

April 11, 2023
By Rohtas Wadera

The international break is a tough time for most soccer fans because their favorite players leave their clubs for weeks at a time to play for their respective countries. However, this international break has more importance than most. It’s one of the last chances teams have to work with each other in person before the World Cup. Let’s take a closer look at the best of the best with another edition of Top 5 Goals from the international break.

5. Esther Okoronkwo – Nigeria

📽️ Powerful Strike! 🔥

That 40th minute individually superbly taken goalscoring effort from Esther Okoronkwo

HT' 1-0 in Antalya 📍

📽️NFF TV YouTube #SoarSuperFalcons| #NGAHAI| #TeamNigeria| #FIFAWWCPrep @thenff pic.twitter.com/kWhiJ3LTMm

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) April 7, 2023

The Super Falcons took on Haiti, two teams that will be in the World Cup over the summer. Esther Okoronkwo provided the first goal of the match incredibly. There was not much of an angle to shoot from, yet Okoronkwo went for it anyway. It takes a ton of skill to create the pace and accuracy needed to score, but the striker made it look easy.

The Nigerians will be a tough team for anyone to beat at the World Cup, especially if players like Esther Okoronkwo can score to support Asisat Oshoala.

4. Lee Geum-Min – South Korea

[GOAL] 대한민국🇰🇷 2-2 🇿🇲잠비아
박은선 선수와 이금민 선수의 합작 동점골! 이금민 선수가 생일 자축골로 동점을 만들어냅니다! 🤩#대한민국 #여자축구국가대표팀 #친선경기 #고강도 #높게강하게도전하라 pic.twitter.com/OWkBmBqDnK

— theKFA (@theKFA) April 7, 2023

South Korea handled their business against Zambia, and this goal was the best they scored all day. It’s a goal scored from a rare position, where a free kick is taken from midfield. Because the ball has to travel further, putting a good ball into the box is much harder.

In this case, it looked like something that South Korea had practiced as a set play. They targeted a player at the top of the box, who was able to head the ball down into the path of Lee Geum-Min. Geum-Min still had a lot to do but managed to one-time the ball on the volley in one fluid motion—a great team goal and one that you don’t see very often.

3. Salma Paralluelo – Spain

⚽️ ¡𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗟!

🤩 Vuelve a marcar @SalmaParalluelo

📹 La jugada perfecta, definición gráfica:

🇪🇸🆚🇳🇴 I 4-1 I 54'

📺 @teledeporte #JugarLucharYGanar pic.twitter.com/niNmk82qdz

— Selección Española Femenina de Fútbol (@SEFutbolFem) April 6, 2023

Spain did as Spain does and scored another goal that started deep in their own half and ended up in the other team’s net. Their passing is always on point, and they will always look to make an extra pass or take the extra touch if need be. Watch how the ball effortlessly flows from front to back, and no one on the opposing team comes anywhere close to slowing them down.

Salma Paralluelo was in the right place to finish off the move nicely but this was more about the build-up play leading up to it.

2. Emily Fox – USWNT

What a way to score your first goal in Red, White & Blue! Congratulations @___emilyfox ❤️🤍💙

🎥 @USWNT pic.twitter.com/8jxlEjREIs

— ata football (@atafball) April 8, 2023

This is quite a way to get your first-ever international goal. Emily Fox has been asked to take up a bigger role with injuries, and we’ve seen her starting a lot more for the national team as a result.

Fox mentioned in the postgame interview that she took advantage of Ireland’s choosing to sit back and defend. There was extra space for Fox to run into, which allowed her to take the extra touch needed for her shot. Then Fox let it rip from long range, and her accuracy was perfect as the ball crept into the far corner past the keeper’s outstretched hand.

Take a bow, Emily Fox. Your first international goal is one to remember for sure.

1. Nicola Docherty – Scotland

🔄 Just watching this on repeat all weekend.

🎯 @NicDoc11 #SWNT pic.twitter.com/2DBXjoiY8j

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) April 7, 2023

There wasn’t much to separate Australia and Scotland in their recent friendly, except for the one screamer scored by Nicola Docherty.

Docherty received the ball and immediately knew what she wanted to do with it. Docherty got her feet set and took the shot from just outside the box. It didn’t have a lot of power on it, but the ball just kept floating and floating until you could hear the loud doink off the post and in.

The ball might’ve taken a bit longer than usual to end up in the net, but the result is still the same, a worldie for Nicola Docherty.