Yahoo News Xherdan Shaqiri says how he wants to be remembered after pipping Cristiano Ronaldo to feat
A super goal from Xherdan Shaqiri earned Switzerland a draw with Scotland to secure qualification to Euro 2024's knock-out stages - and an individual feat for the player himself.
Shaqiri beat Cristiano Ronaldo to become the first European to score in each of the last six major tournaments when he seized on a loose back pass from Anthony Ralston and bent a shot from just outside the box past fellow former Stoke City player Angus Gunn.
It means he has scored in the last three World Cups and now three European Championships too. The 32-year-old, who plays for Chicago Fire these days, is also apparently the first player to score in a European Championship match while playing for a team based in North or South America.
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He scored a hat-trick against Honduras at the 2014 World Cup, a brilliant scissor kick against Poland at Euro 2016 while on Stoke's books, a dramatic and emphatically-celebrated winner against Serbia at the 2018 World Cup, three times at Euro 2020 - two against Turkey and in a quarter-final against Spain - and another against Serbia at the 2022 World Cup.
"I wanted to take full advantage of the opponent's mistake," he said after the match last night. "Then I saw that the goalkeeper was standing far out and thought to myself: 'Come on, flick it in now.' I was glad that I didn't injure my knees (in the celebration). But of course it was an important goal. And a very nice one too. Today was another day when I was able to help the team. The big games are made for me. I hope I will be remembered for that."
Euro 2024 groups are sorted by points and then by the record between the teams in question, meaning that Switzerland, with four points, are through no matter the outcome when they play against Germany in Frankfurt on Sunday. Scotland, on one point, still have a chance of qualifying as a best third-placed team if they beat Hungary, who have no points, in Stuttgart.
