Songs that became dances at the World Cup Generally, the memories that remain of a World Cup are the goals, fights and remarkable plays. But, in some cases, the celebration ends up being as remembered as the move that gave rise to it. Over the last few decades, players have transformed dances, music and cultural expressions from their countries into symbols of the World Cup. From Roger Milla dancing Makossa in 1990 to the choreographies of the Brazilian team in 2022, some celebrations helped to popularize local rhythms, promote songs and create images that remain alive in the imagination of fans. That's why g1 listed the most memorable songs and choreographies in the history of the World Cup. Roger Milla and his unique swing — 1990 Roger Milla dancing at the 1990 World Cup FIFA / Social Media During the 1990 World Cup, Cameroonian Roger Milla took advantage of a mistake by Colombian goalkeeper René Higuita (known for his risky style of playing with his feet) to score, in extra time, the goal that guaranteed Cameroon's unprecedented qualification for the quarter-finals. During the celebration, he ran to the corner flag and started dancing. Years later, he explained that the choice was spontaneous: "It was the sun that sent me there; it was a good place to dance on the field." The movements were inspired by Makossa, the most popular musical genre in Cameroon, which emerged in the 1950s from a mix of local rhythms with Congolese rumba, funk and soul. Tshabalala's 'Macarena' at the African Cup — 2010 Siphiwe Tshabalala celebrating with his teammates GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP The first goal of the African World Cup in 2010 had a special weight, after all, it was also the first goal in the history of the World Cup on African soil. When Siphiwe Tshabalala scored against Mexico in the opening of the tournament, the goal quickly became a symbol of unity and pride for the African fans present at that edition. But as remarkable as the kick was the celebration. Tshabalala and his teammates ran to the corner flag and performed a rehearsed dance, which became known as a kind of "African Macarena". The Armoration — 2014 Armero leads the festive 'armeration' dance, Colombia's secret weapon 100% in the World Cup Reuters Who would have thought that from a failed attempt to dance to "Rebolation", an absolute hit from the 2010 carnival, another style of dance would be born? That's exactly what happened to Pablo Armero, a Palmeiras player at the time, he went viral when he celebrated a goal scored by his teammates in the 4-3 victory over Santos, at Vila Belmiro. Four years later, the dance returned to the spotlight at the World Cup in Brazil. After scoring against Greece, Armero gathered his teammates and repeated the famous "Armeration". Samuel Umtiti's clumsy steps — 2018 Samuel Umtiti celebrating a goal against Belgium in the 2018 World Cup semi-final CHRISTOPHE SIMON / AFP At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Samuel Umtiti scored the goal that put France into the final by defeating Belgium in the semi-final. After finding the back of the net, the defender walked towards the crowd and began a peculiar celebration: a mix of a clumsy walk and dance steps that quickly went viral among French fans. The gesture was so successful that it inspired rapper Vegedream to release "Ramenez La Coupe à la Maison", a song that celebrated the French title and reached the top of the country's charts. The 'Pagodão do Birimbola' by Neymar and company — 2021 'Pagodão do Birimbola': dance by the group Os Quebradeiras becomes a celebration of Brazil against South Korea As football memes would say, Brazil didn't win the World Cup in Qatar, but it put on a real show during the competition. In the 4-1 victory over South Korea, Neymar, Lucas Paquetá, Raphinha and Vinícius Júnior celebrated one of the goals with the choreography of "Pagodão do Birimbola", a hit by the group Os Quebradeiras. The track mixes funk with influences from Bahian pagodão and makes reference to the song "Tchubirabirom", by Parangolé. The group from Niterói went viral on social media with the dance, which had already been shared by Neymar even before the World Cup. 'Pagodão do Birimbola': dance by the group Os Quebradeiras becomes a celebration of Brazil against South Korea The pigeon dance — 2021 Richarlison and Tite doing the 'pigeon dance' Reproduction/TV Globo In the same game against South Korea in 2022, Richarlison also left his goal. During the celebration, he repeated his traditional "Dança do Pombo", inspired by the song created by MC Faísca in 2008 and popularized years later thanks to videos published by the attacker himself on social media. It was such a success that even coach Tite joined in the fun and reproduced the choreography on the edge of the field, in one of the most remembered images of the Brazilian campaign in Qatar. 'Pigeon dance': author of the song that generated Richarlison's nickname is now an app driver