If there’s anything better than the World Cup itself, it’s probably the legendary commercials that highlight the spirit of the games and the players who make it possible. However, the memes are definitely a close second. 

As the excitement builds for this year’s World Cup in Qatar, and the “memexperts” are getting ready to hilariously highlight the best moments, we wanted to look back at the best memes from 2018…and also hope and pray that 2022’s are even better.

9. Senegal warms up to the sweet, sultry sounds of “Ducktales”

Some mad genius who watched Senegal warming up before their game against Japan (which ended in a 1-1 draw) decided it would be prudent to add the “Ducktales” theme on top of a 30-second clip featuring the team’s warm-up dance. The music syncs up perfectly and the result is just too good to ignore.

8. Emmanuel Macron dabs with Paul Pogba

Public figures engaging with the culture will never not be entertaining, and this video of French president Emmanuel Macron dabbing alongside Paul Pogba is one for the books. It’s a short video, but seeing Macron try to figure out the logistics of dabbing will keep you watching over and over again.

7. Croatia isn’t sure if they’re actually in the finals

Four years later, it’s difficult to explain just how little everyone expected Croatia to make the World Cup finals. The small but mighty nation had never made it to a World Cup final in the history of the competition. Going up against a well-established powerhouse like France, Croatia became the ultimate underdogs as they entered the final round of the global competition.

6. Michy Batshuayi’s goal celebration 

After his teammate, Adnan Januzaj, scored Belgium’s only goal against England and brought the team to a 1-0 victory, Michy Batshuayi couldn’t help but celebrate. But instead of the usual hugging and huddling amongst teammates, Batshuayi decided to kick the ball back into the net at point blank range. That would’ve been all well and good…if the ball didn’t bounce off the goalpost and hit him right in the head. Most fans brushed it off as a silly moment, but it’s one of the 2018 Cup’s more memorable gaffes.

5. A 6-second recap pretty much sums up Mexico vs. Germany

One of the more surprising moments of the 2018 World Cup happened when Mexico, against all odds, beat Germany 1-0. Widely regarded as one of the best teams in the league with four World Cup wins under its belt, nobody expected Mexico to take the win, but that’s exactly what happened. Thanks to Internet Palace, you don’t even have to watch the game to know what took place. All you need is a 6-second clip of a German Shepherd barking at a Chihuahua, who claps back at him full force, scaring the big dog away.

4. Iran tries to get fancy with it, but it doesn’t work out as they’d hoped

A fan-favorite meme from the 2018 games, this short clip featuring a player from the Iranian team trying and failing to do a front-flip throw on the world’s stage. All of us do something embarrassing from time to time, but most of us don’t have to live with billions of people watching us do it.

3. “It’s Coming Home”

If you aren’t a fan of England, you probably had to plug your ears after the 7,000th rendition of “Football’s Coming Home,” a 90s soccer anthem that had English fans reminding the world that their homeland was the “birthplace” of contemporary soccer and that they had reached the semifinals for the first time since 1990. Annoying? Yes. Hilarious? Most definitely.

2. Jesse Lingard isn’t coming home…It is!

One of the better “It’s Coming Home” memes came from one of England’s players, Jesse Lingard. When the team approached the semifinals and fans across the nation started letting everyone know that football was coming home, the players were quick to jump in and confirm that it was, in fact, coming home.

1. Forehead

Not much to say here except: “Forehead.” If you know, you know.

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