The voice of the World Cup: How Andrés Cantor prepares for football's most famous goal call

With Argentina officially kicking off their title defence at the World Cup with a dominant 3-0 victory—powered by a brilliant Lionel Messi hat trick—football fans are already looking forward to one of the tournament's most familiar sounds. Every time a crucial goal hits the back of the net, viewers can expect to hear the unforgettable, lung-busting cry of "GOOOAAL!" from legendary broadcaster Andrés Cantor.

For millions of fans around the world, Cantor's voice has become inseparable from football's greatest moments. But producing that level of excitement on demand is no easy task; it takes the kind of preparation usually associated with elite athletes.

The training behind the triumph

"I want to get to the World Cup with the strongest voice possible," Cantor recently said in a New York Times feature video.

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To survive a gruelling modern tournament schedule, Cantor works closely with vocal coach Wendy Parr. His routine includes humming through straws, blowing bubbles into water and practising vocal scales to keep his vocal cords in top condition. His preparation goes beyond voice training, too. He spends time learning to pronounce every player's surname correctly in its native language, believing that respect for the athletes is an important part of the job.

With an exhausting schedule of 10 games in 14 days spread across the US, Canada, and Mexico, Cantor relies heavily on a simple piece of advice he gathered from touring singers: get plenty of sleep.

"When the final whistle blows," Cantor admits, "I’m pretty much as tired as the players are".

The breakthrough

Born in Buenos Aires, Cantor moved to Southern California as a teenager and graduated from USC. Living away from Argentina only deepened his connection to the national team and the sport he grew up loving.

His breakthrough arrived during the 1994 World Cup in the United States, where his unique, high-energy style completely disrupted the broadcasting world.

Decades later, his over-the-top enthusiasm has firmly cemented his status as a pop-culture icon, even earning him a guest cameo playing himself on The Simpsons episode "You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee", where his cartoon counterpart hilariously lets loose a trademark, elongated goal scream when absolutely nothing is happening on the pitch.

That raw, authentic passion is exactly why audiences love him, famously captured when he broke down in tears during his viral 2022 World Cup Final broadcast when Argentina lifted the trophy after a 36-year drought.

As a massive new tournament unfolds on American soil, the players will dictate the magic on the field, but Andrés Cantor's voice will help turn those moments into memories that last forever.