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From inspired freekicks to classy Croatians, these are out picks of the best Euros goals from number 29 to 20.
29. Lorenzo Insigne: Italy v Belgium, 2020
INSIGNE !!! SENSATIONAL GOAL AGAINST BELGIUM | EURO 2020 |www.youtube.com
Watching this wonderful, opportunistic goal from Italy’s diminutive superstar Lorenzo Insigne back, you think someone must be about to shut him down and stop the shot… but as the run continues, and the space keeps opening up for him, it soon seems inevitable that he’ll curl it perfectly round the keeper with a superb effort.
28. Dimitri Payet: France v Romania, 2016
Payet Crazy Weak Foot Goal vs Romania 2-1 | 6/10/16 EURO 2016 | France vs Romania Highlights HDwww.youtube.com
The year 2016 is synonymous with a number of things, globally and politically, that lots of people won’t want to revisit. But one of the things many football fans will look back fondly on is the heyday of Dimitry Payet, who at the time was ripping up the Premier League and scoring unstoppable goals like this for France. What a player.
27. Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Sweden v Greece, 2008
Greece 0-2 Sweden - EURO 2008 - Ibrahimović' Long Range Goal - Extended Highlights - EC - FHDyoutu.be
If Zlatan is on the pitch, there’s always a good chance that the spectacular will happen. So proved the case in Sweden’s game against defending champions Greece in 2008, when he took the game by the scruff of its neck and fired home from long distance on the way to a 2-0 win.
26. Michel Platini: France v Yugoslavia, 1984
MICHEL PLATINI Scores A Hat-Trick In 18 Minutes To Defeat YUGOSLAVIA (June 1984)www.youtube.com
Diving headers don’t come around that often, and when great ones are scored – like this superb effort from Michel Platini, one of the few from the 80s – they need to be celebrated.
25. Gianluca Vialli: Italy v Spain, 1988
The late, great Gianluca Vialli finds a way of slipping past his marker so easily for this simple, but inspired goal against Spain in 1988. There’s elegance in the dropped shoulder, and real power to drive past the marker and slot home.
24. Zinedine Zidane: France v England, 2004
Zidane Legendary Goal vs England Euro 2004www.youtube.com
This whipped freekick is just one moment in one of the finest individual performances in the history of the Euros. France were losing 1-0 to England when the game went into extra time, only for Zidane to score a perfect freekick and slot home a penalty before the game ended 2-1.
23. Luka Modric: Croatia v Scotland, 2020
هدف مودريتش ضد اسكتلندا التاريخي بدون حقوق و بجودة 4K #من_الذاكرة #shortswww.youtube.com
Luka Modric has been class personified throughout his career, and this sublime finish with the outside of his boot is probably the finest international goal he scored – alongside his belter against Argentina at the 2018 World Cup. People were questioning how long he’d still be able to play at the top level for even back then, at the age of 35, and he’s going to be playing for Croatia this summer at 38. A super moment from a sublime player.
22. Wayne Rooney: England v Croatia, 2004
@bbcsport Wayne Rooney was unstoppable against Croatia at Euro 2004 🐐. Watch ‘Rooney 2004: World At His Feet’ on BBC iPlayer. #BBCFootball #WayneRooney #Rooney #Euro2004 #Euros #England
If you'd told England fans after this game in 2004 that England would still be trophy-less 20 years later, they simply would not have believed you. The emergence of Rooney, truly world-class and still a teenager, alongside such a talented squad had England fans walking on clouds in the early stages of the 2004 tournament, and this was one of the finest moments.
21. Mario Balotelli: Italy v Germany, 2012
Balotelli's goal vs Germany in semi-final euro2012www.youtube.com
The celebration is more famous than the goal now, but this is a genuine screamer from Man City bad boy Mario Balotelli. To pull something like this off, hitting it instinctively and so hard that it nearly broke the net, during the semi-final of a major tournament shows – at the time, at least – there was something seriously special about Balotelli.
20. Marek Hamsik: Slovakia v Russia, 2016
Marek Hamsik GOAL vs Russia euro 2016www.youtube.com
Marek Hamsik was unplayable in his heyday back in the mid-2010s, and the kind of player every footballing hipster used to love waxing lyrical about at the time. This goal-scoring midfielder had success at Napoli at that time, and his goal against Russia in 2016, thudding pleasingly off the woodwork, was probably his finest moment at international level.
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