Euro 2016 has entered Matchday-3 and so far it has witnessed some exciting, dramatic and controversial clashes. Italy, Spain, Switzerland and France have so far booked their places in the last 16.
The tournament has also witnessed some amazing goals coming from both renowned players and players who were relatively unknown prior to the tournament. Let’s take a look at five of the best goals of the tournament so far.
1) Dimitri Payet vs Romania
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The 29-year-old attacking midfielder had a terrific season with West Ham United as he was their best player this season, scoring nine goals in 30 appearances in the Premier League.
He was subsequently named in the PFA Team of the Year for his performances in the Premier League. After a wonderful season with The Hammers, Payet was expected to carry his league form to the Euros and he certainly didn’t let France down.
Payet started France’s opening game against Romania and was at the top of his game throughout the match. After some brilliant display in midfield, Payet crossed in for Olivier Giroud who headed the opening goal of the match and of the tournament.
After Bogdan Stancu equalized for Romania from the spot, the match seemed to be heading for a 1-1 draw before Payet scored a thunderous left-footed volley well past Romanian goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu to seal a 2-1 win for Les Bleus. Payet’s wonderful volley deserved to be among the greatest goals in Euro history and hasn’t been bettered in this tournament so far.
2) Luka Modric vs Turkey
The 30-year-old creative midfielder was coming to the Euros on the back of a terrific season with Real Madrid where he helped Real win an 11th Champions League and a lot of Croatia’s hopes were pinned on Modric. Croatia would begin their Euro 2016 campaign against Turkey which was a rematch of their previous encounter at the quarterfinals of Euro 2008.
Croatia began the match brightly with a couple of early chances but it was their talismanic midfielder Modric who would prove to be the decisive factor of the match. In the 41st minute of the match.
Captain Darijo Srna took a corner and the ball was gathered by Ivan Rakitic who crossed in only for the ball to be cleared by Selcuk Inan which landed on the feet on Modric and the latter struck a thunderous volley from long range to give Croatia the lead and score his eleventh goal for Croatia. It turned out to be the winning goal of the match and Croatia began their Euro campaign in style.
3) Gareth Bale vs England
We have seen players like George Best and Alfredo di Stefano who were regarded to be one of the best of their time but never got the opportunity to display their full potential at a major tournament.
The same was initially thought of the world’s most expensive footballer Gareth Bale as Wales were struggling at that time before Bale & Co. turned things around to qualify for Euro 2016 with the Real Madrid star scoring seven goals in qualifying.
In Wales’ opening game against Slovakia, Bale made his mark on the international stage by scoring from a free-kick after just ten minutes. Wales eventually went on to win 2-1 and would face neighbors England in their next match.
England were dominating in the early stages of the match before they conceded a free-kick in the 42nd minute. Once again Bale stepped up to take the free-kick and scored from 35 yards.
Even though Wales went on to lose the match 2-1, the quality of Bale’s goal is enough to tell how much talent he actually possesses and the best of him is probably yet to come.
4) Marek Hamsik vs Russia
The former Slovak skipper had already established himself as one of the finest footballers in Europe in recent years. He had a decent season with Napoli, leading them to the runners-up spot in the Serie A and instantaneously a Champions League spot.
After having led Slovakia to their first ever World Cup finals in 2010, Hamsik was instrumental in Slovakia’s direct qualification to Euro 2016 as he scored five goals during the qualifiers.
Slovakia began their Euro 2016 campaign with a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Wales and were up against Russia in their second match. Against Russia, Slovakia were putting on a much better display than they did against Wales and were 1-0 up in the 32nd minute thanks to a goal from Vladimir Weiss.
In the 45th minute, Hamsik scored a brilliant goal from his right boot from a difficult angle to double the lead for Slovakia. His goal later proved to be decisive as Russia pulled one back to make it 2-1 but that was that. It was a much-needed victory for Slovakia which gives them hope of qualification to the Round of 16.
5) Eric Dier vs Russia
England had a sensational qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 as they won all ten of their qualifiers and were even considered one of the contenders to win the title. The Three Lions began their Euro campaign against Russia at Marseille where England had a number of chances on goal but couldn’t find the net as they were denied time and again by Russian Goalie Igor Akinfeev.
England were awarded a free-kick in the 73rd minute and up stepped 22-year-old Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier who had played a crucial role for Spurs as they finished 3rd in the Premier League.
Dier scored directly from the free-kick, giving England the lead and scoring his second international goal in eight appearances. However, Dier’s marvelous strike couldn’t be enough for England as Russia struck an equaliser in the dying moments of the match to salvage a point.
