In sport, a goal may refer to either an instance of scoring, or to the physical structure or area where an attacking team must send the ball or puck in order to score points. The structure of a goal varies from sport to sport, and one is placed at or near each end of the playing field for each team to defend. For many sports, each goal structure usually consists of two vertical posts, called goal posts, supporting a horizontal crossbar. A goal line marked on the playing surface between the goal posts demarcates the goal area. Thus, the objective is to send the ball or puck between the goal posts, under or over the crossbar, and across the goal line. Other sports may have other types of structures or areas where the ball or puck must pass through, such as the basketball hoop. Sports which feature goal scoring are also commonly known as invasion games.
Peter Bondra scoring a goal in ice hockey
A goal in a match of association football
Hungarian players prepare to defend their goal against a Canadian corner-stroke at the 2012 Bandy World Championship. The goal-keeper has a different colour on his jersey, here grey.
Ice hockey: The puck hits the top of the net for a goal as the goaltender fails to block the shot.
Association football, commonly known as football, or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players each, who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposing team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing team. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is the world's most popular sport.
The attacking player (No. 10) attempts to kick the ball into the net behind the opposing team's goalkeeper (here wearing red and yellow) to score a goal.
An early draft of the original hand-written 'Laws of the Game' drawn up on behalf of The Football Association by Ebenezer Cobb Morley in 1863 on display at the National Football Museum, Manchester, England
The Aston Villa team in 1897, after winning both the FA Cup and the English Football League
North team of the British Ladies', the first organised women's football team, here pictured in March 1895