Too early to call goal of the tournament? Nah, probably not
Ronnie Whelan had a good run of it, but his 33-year run as scorer of best goal at the Euros is at an end. Patrik Schick is the new king in town.
Day four of Euro 2020 is probably a *little* bit too early to start throwing phrases like Goal of the Tournament around, if we’re honest. Even so, we’re already pretty confident that what Patrik Schick did against Scotland during the early minutes of the second half on Monday afternoon will take some beating in the weeks ahead.
Having already given the Czech Republic the lead shortly before the interval at Hampden Park with a smartly taken header, Schick looked like he had plenty of work to do when the ball rebounded into his path near the halfway line.
The furthest man forward for the Czechs and with two Scottish defenders ahead of him, it seemed like the smart option – possibly the *only* option – would be to hold the ball up for a fraction of a second and wait for his teammates to catch up.
But no…
Having spied David Marshall off his line, Schick decided to shoot – from only a yard or two inside the Scottish half.
Struck with his left foot, the Bayer Leverkusen forward’s finish was perfect: drifting over Marshall’s head and into the empty goal without a single bounce.
What a bloody strike that was from Patrik Schick! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/vL1T4CuZbe
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 14, 2021
A goal to remember, spoiling the party for Scotland on their return to major tournament football after a 23-year absence.
Over on RTE, former Liverpool and Ireland midfielder Ronnie Whelan reacted like a man who knew his crown had been taken.
After commentator Jack Hendry went ballistic, Whelan eventually jumped in… to criticise the Scot.
“You’ve got to look at why Hendry tried to take that shot from so far out,” Whelan said. He lingered on that for a few moments more, before replays confirmed just how special that Schick strike was:
An early goal of the tournament contender by Patrick Schik from just inside the Scottish half to double the Czech lead #SCO 0-2 #CZE #SCOCZE #EURO2020 #RTEsoccer
📱 Live updates – https://t.co/3miZR6deFJ
📺 Watch live – https://t.co/2W5kFtUgZE pic.twitter.com/7aJ4zUo5gv
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) June 14, 2021
Back in 1988, of course, Whelan shinned in this absolute golazo against the Soviet Union to sear himself into championship history forever.
His strike was sweet, but Schick’s was better:
Had a great run, though.
Scotland will now turn their attentions to the game with England at Wembley on Friday. Should they lose that, qualification for the knockout stages may be beyond them.
