--- description: The Dutch forward has scored a goal for the books. title: Soccer Football World Cup: Robin van Persie Epic Header Against Spain image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2014 World Cup](/tag/2014-world-cup/) ## 2014 World Cup Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # WATCH: Robin van Persie Scores Epic Header Against Spain by [Aleksandra Gjorgievska](/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/) ## Aleksandra Gjorgievska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 13, 2014 9:31 PM CUT by [Aleksandra Gjorgievska](/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/) ## Aleksandra Gjorgievska Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 13, 2014 9:31 PM CUT The Dutch forward has scored a goal for the books. In Friday’s match against defending World Cup champion Spain, Robin van Persie scored a goal that immediately turned him into an Internet sensation. In the 44th minute of the match, with Spain in the lead, the Manchester United player soared in the air as he sent the ball flying past Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas with his head. The Netherlands went on to win 5—1, and by the end of the match, van Persie’s feat had been immortalized into a [meme](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/soccer-insider-live/liveblog/world-cup-live-blog-june-13/?id=d3047913-0a70-4713-b4a0-b1bebcd60ae7 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2873266/watch-robin-van-persies-header-world-cup/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2873266/watch-robin-van-persies-header-world-cup/"},"headline":"WATCH: Robin van Persie Scores Epic Header Against Spain","datePublished":"2014-06-13T21:31:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:24:58.765Z","description":"The Dutch player floated mid-air as he scored the competition's most jaw-dropping goal thus far","url":"https://time.com/2873266/watch-robin-van-persies-header-world-cup/","keywords":["2014 World Cup","brazil","Spain","Soccer","The Netherlands"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aleksandra Gjorgievska","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aleksandra-gjorgievska/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2014-world-cup/","name":"2014 World Cup"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2873266/watch-robin-van-persies-header-world-cup/","name":"WATCH: Robin van Persie Scores Epic Header Against Spain"}}]}] ```