Vivianne Miedema nearly scores off slick Cruyff turn (Video)

The Cruyff turn is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and effective skills in football, and Netherlands superstar striker Vivianne Miedema executed this maneuver to perfection to set up a dangerous opportunity against Canada.

While Canada and the Netherlands already qualified for the knockout stages of the 2019 Women’s World Cup prior to their Group E clash, there was plenty of pride on the line in this highly-anticipated head-to-head matchup between two World Cup favorites.

As the Netherlands’ all-time leading goal-scorer – following her two goals against Cameroon – Vivianne Miedema had to come up big against Canada and their superstar striker Christine Sinclair.

While Miedema wasn’t able to score in the first half, she came inches away from dispatching one of the goals of the tournament. From out of nowhere, Miedema created a chance with a beautifully executed Cruyff turn, leaving her defender for dead. Miedema only need the slightest bit of space to whip in a fierce shot to the far post, and only the post denied the Arsenal star her third World Cup goal this year.

The shot itself was nice, even if it didn’t leave the net bulging, but the Cruyff turn is the real story here. Miedema’s skill on the ball is just as fun to watch as her deadly finishing, and she had been a terror for Canada’s defense. Stephanie Labbe was given quite the scare here, and the chance was created entirely by Miedema’s fleet footwork.

Even though Miedema didn’t score and the finish was extremely difficult due to the strong recovery by the defender, this Cruyff turn should go down as one of the best highlights of the tournament. It takes so much skill to seamlessly make that turn in the box, and Miedema has, as expected, been one of the stars of the tournament thus far.