Portugal's impact player scored a screamer and introduced a trendy celebration to football's greatest showpiece.
Check it out!
What's the story?
After Portugal's Rafael Leao scored his second goal of the tournament in stoppage time in a big win over Switzerland, he celebrated by doing a popular jig that's crossed over multiple sporting codes.
The American dance is called the 'Griddy' and was popularised in American Football.
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Let's take a closer look at Leao's moves, instructions on how to do the dance, and other ballers who have celebrated in a similar manner.
Rafael Leao's griddy
In a moment that showed how closely young footballers follow popular culture in the US, Portuguese substitute Rafael Leao turned the Lusail Stadium into his dancefloor by doing the popular 'Griddy' dance.
Leao rounded off a dominant display by the Portuguese by scoring his country's sixth goal of the night, which sees them progress to the World Cup quarter-finals to play Morocco.
Here's a video of the 23-year-old smoothly doing the dance:
When you watch @RafaeLeao7 do the griddy celebration from FIFA live in the WC???? #FIFAWorldCup2022 pic.twitter.com/Rue2ubo6mN
— Lokmanyu Chaturvedi (@lokmanyu06) December 6, 2022
He's done it on a number of occasions with AC Milan, notably with teammate Fikayo Tomori. The celebration had American World Cup pundits buzzing to the point where they emulated the player's dance moves:
Hittin' da griddy to perfection! ?????? #ehhh #FIFAWorldCup @janinebeckie @Linz_Hamilton @TSN_Sports @RafaeLeao7 pic.twitter.com/mOyEJPxwWm
— Tosaint Ricketts (@TosaintRicketts) December 6, 2022
What is the griddy?
As per sportingnews.com, the griddy is a dance that was invented in the US by Allen Davis, a man from Louisiana, who's friends with NFL star J'marr Chase, who introduced it to fellow NFL star Justin Jefferson during their College years at LSU.
Justin Jefferson popularised the dance before hitting the big time in the NFL, and similar to older viral dance moves like the 'Nae-Nae' and the 'Dougie' in the 2010s, the 'Griddy' took American sports culture by storm.
To do the dance, one needs to tap/shuffle their heel, while alternating between their left and right foot forward, make a symbol with your hands that resembles a the letter 'b' or the number '6' and while in rhythm, bring your hands up onto your eyes and back down, continuously.
Players such as Manchester United's Anthony Elanga and Christian Pulisic have done it in the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League respectively.
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Here's a tutorial of the dance by Justin Jefferson:
Scroll through the gallery to view snaps of Leao doing the dance:
Have your say on Leao's version of the 'Griddy', could we see more footballers doing it?
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