A screamer (also known as a thunderbolt, banger, rocket, belter, or worldie) is an informal term used in association football to describe a spectacular goal, typically characterised by exceptional power, long range, and an element of audacity or technical brilliance that elicits a visceral reaction from spectators, commentators, and players alike. The term is deeply embedded in the lexicon of football culture, particularly in English-speaking football communities, and has been in widespread colloquial use since at least the 1980s. Though the word has no official definition within the Laws of the Game, it is universally understood among fans, pundits, and players to denote a goal of extraordinary quality—one that, as the name suggests, causes those who witness it to scream in astonishment, delight, or despair.
The screamer occupies a unique and revered position in the cultural mythology of football. While tap-ins, penalties, and deflected goals all count equally on the scoresheet, the screamer transcends mere statistical record-keeping. It is the type of goal that gets replayed thousands of times on highlight reels, the type of goal that children attempt to recreate in playgrounds and car parks for years afterwards, and the type of goal that can define an entire career in the collective memory of fans.
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To add a new page, search for the name of the page you want to make in the search bar; if the page does not already exist, there will be a prompt allowing you to create the page. Give the page the same name as the screamer, for example ScaryScreamer.com. You are now ready to write your page!
You can also help Screamer Wiki by saving already existing screamers, shock sites, and videos to the Internet Archive (https://archive.org/web/). If a screamer or shock site gets deleted, banned, or removed, then it can still be viewed on the Wayback Machine.
If you want to open flash files after the shutdown, use Ruffle.
Julio Enciso, on loan at Ipswich Town, sparks a comeback against Everton with a ferocious long-range screamer while his side were 2–0 down.
FIFA Puskás Award continues to celebrate the world's best goal each year, keeping the art of the screamer in the global spotlight.
Did You Know?
... that Roberto Carlos's famous 1997 free kick against France was so physically improbable that physicists published a paper attempting to explain its trajectory?
... that Alexander Isak's strike against Liverpool in 2024–25 was clocked at over 108 km/h, making it the most powerful recorded shot in Premier League history that season?
... that the FIFA Puskás Award, given annually for the world's best goal, is named after Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás, who never scored a screamer famous enough to win his own award?
... that Gareth Bale's iconic Copa del Rey final goal in 2014 is widely considered one of the greatest, despite being a run rather than a traditional long-range screamer?
... that Vincent Kompany's screamer against Leicester in 2019 was so unexpected that his own teammates tried to stop him from shooting?
... that Jhon Durán scored multiple long-range screamers for Aston Villa before turning 21, earning a transfer to Al-Nassr worth over £70 million?
