“Pronostici 1 giornata europei 2016 quali” (CC BY 2.0) by NazionaleCalcio
The European Championship is well and truly under way in France and, so far, the on-the-pitch action has not disappointed.
With England and Wales (at the time of writing) both looking likely to qualify for the round of 16 stage, this year’s Euros could be one of the most exciting yet. Away from the home nations, countries such as Italy, Croatia and France have played some real ‘Joga Bonito’ (Brazilian for beautiful play) so far this tournament and scored some excellent goals in the process.
Here at Warrington Worldwide, we’ve put our heads together and picked our four favourite goals of France 2016 so far. Enjoy!
1) Dimitri Payet – France v Romania (Group A)
This year’s Euros started with a bang when West Ham midfielder Dimitri Payet scored this belter of a goal in France’s narrow 2-1 win over Romania. With France playing the tournament curtain-raiser, the pressure was on for the hosts, who are 7/2 to win outright if you’re looking for the best odds of Euro 2016, to put in a complete performance.
After taking the lead through Olivier Giroud in the 57th minute, the home side were pegged back after Romania scored an equaliser from Bogdan Stancu’s penalty just minutes later. Despite a very unconvincing performance from the French, the hosts were dealt a slice of luck when match winner Payet popped up with seconds remaining to score the sort of long range effort he has produced time and time again in the Premier League.
2) Marek Hamsik – Slovakia v Russia (Group B)
With Hamsik’s Slovakia side desperate for a win after losing their maiden Group B game against Wales, his stunning finish against Russia in the country’s second group game was just what the doctor ordered, as the team went on to record a vital 2-1 win. It was eye of the needle stuff from the Napoli man, with the ball ricocheting off the inside of the right-hand post before nestling comfortably in the bottom-left corner of the goal.
3) Eric Dier – England v Russia (Group B)
Russia are yet again on the wrong side of the goals scored on our list, after England’s Eric Dier netted in their game against Leonid Slutsky’s men in the opening weekend of the tournament. Despite the Russians fighting back to draw the game, following a late equaliser from Vasili Berezutski, nothing can be taken away from Dier’s sweetly struck free kick, which had supporters of his English club side, Tottenham Hotspur, purring with delight back in Blighty.
4) Luka Modric – Croatia v Turkey (Group D)
This list wouldn’t be complete without Croatia midfielder Luka Modric’s impressive strike against Turkey on the opening weekend. With 41 minutes of the game gone, and the Croatians having the lion’s share of chances against a lacklustre Turkey side, Ante Čačić’s men’s pressure finally told when a clearance from Selcuk Inan teed up a lurking Luka Modric to strike the ball first time with his right foot on the volley. With keeper Volkan Babacan not standing a chance, Modric’s shot flew venemously into the bottom-left corner of the net and set his Croatia side on their way to an important 1-0 victory at the Parc des Princes.
