Schick stunner buries Scotland

With a solitary win to their name, Mambas are fresh from a 0-2 defeat at the hands of Cranborne Royals at Wagadhugu Stadium.

GLASGOW — Czech Republic forward Patrik Schick seemed almost nonplussed when discussing his astonishing Euro 2020 goal, from almost the halfway line against Scotland, which powered his country to a 2-0 win yesterday.

“I saw him (off his line),” he said of goalkeeper David Marshall. “I checked in the first half when this situation would come. I was checking where he was standing.”

The Bayer Leverkusen forward had already scored a splendid header just before the break to deflate a Hampden that was fit to burst in Scotland’s first appearance at a men’s finals in 23 years.

Then he took the air from the Glasgow ground entirely with what might just be the best European Championship goal ever.

While some fingers might be pointed at Scotland centre-back Jack Hendry, whose ambitious shot was blocked and bounced into the Schick’s path, but few could have foreseen what would happen next.

Schick, a £22m-signing for Leverkusen from Roma last September, came into this summer’s finals on the back of an impressive debut season with the Bundesliga side.

The Sparta Prague academy product scored 13 goals in 36 games at club level, and before kick-off at Hampden had been involved in eight goals in his last eight starts at international level.

But it wasn’t just Schick’s goal-scoring that caught the eye. He won the ball back for his side five times, as well as becoming the first Czech player to score twice at a finals in 15 years. He was also, by far, the highest-rated player by the BBC Sport audience with a score of 8.66.

Former Scotland winger Neil McCann: “I’m sitting here as a Scotsman and I’m gutted, but you have to applaud that class, skill and execution. He’s shaped it outside the post, and brought it back underneath the crossbar beyond David Marshall. That’s as good a goal as I’ve seen for a long time.”

Former Scotland captain Darren Fletcher: “That’s an unbelievable execution from a top-class striker.”

Former Scotland international Pat Nevin: “Marshall finds himself a long, long way out of goal. It’s a brilliant finish by Schick, but if you are that far out as the keeper, you better be able to get back in. The question has to be asked why he’s so far out of goal, because Scotland don’t use their goalkeeper as an extra defender.” — BBC Sport.