Patrik Schick reveals he PLANNED his stunning long-range lob against Scotland in the first-half after the Czech Republic matchwinner noticed goalkeeper David Marshall was standing well off his line
Czech Republic matchwinner Patrik Schick has revealed he planned his wonder goal against Scotland after spotting goalkeeper David Marshall off his line earlier in the game.
After his first half header put his country 1-0 up at Hamden Park, Schick looped the ball over Marshall with a stunning strike from nearly 50 yards, sending the goalkeeper scurrying back before it found the net.
It is being earmarked as an early goal of Euro 2020 contender after stealing the show on Scotland’s first major tournament appearance in 23 years.
Patrik Schick (left) revealed he planned his wonder goal against Scotland in the first half
The striker revealed he noticed goalkeeper David Marshall was standing off his line in first half
And Schick revealed the strike was no fluke after noticing in the first half that the Scotland No 1 had been positioning himself high up the field.
After the game, the striker told the BBC: ‘Yeah, I saw him (off his line). I checked in the first half when this situation would come. I knew he was staying very high and when the ball came I checked where he was standing.
‘I knew that he stayed very high. When the ball came, I just quickly checked him, saw he was out, so I tried. It was a nice goal.’
The official distance of the strike comes in at 49.7 yards, setting a record for the longest distance from which a goal has been scored in the history of the European Championship.
His first was also impressive, meeting Vladimir Coufal’s cross with a looping header just before half time.
After noticing it again early in second half, Schick tried his luck and scored a stunning second
The effort saw Marshall scurry back towards his goal after being caught out by the strike
The brace got the Czechs off to the perfect start in Group D and they will now have ambitions on advancing to the knock-out stages after going top of the group.
Schick claimed it was vital his side got a victory in their opener.
‘The first game is really important and we are so happy we have won the game’, the 25-year-old added.
‘It’s always hard to play against us because we have a lot of hard-working players. Scotland were a tough opponent and we were ready for their tactics.
The Czech striker also opened the scoring in the Group D clash with a fine header in first half
‘Of course (confident they can beat Croatia). We knew they’re a very strong opponent. We expect another game that will be a little bit different. We will prepare as best we can, and we will see.’
Scotland will now travel to face England at Wembley on Friday in desperate need of a result, as Czech Republic face Croatia earlier in the day.
