What would football be without goals? Goals win games and some really memorable ones have been scored in this tournament. As the Euros starts tomorrow, let's take a look at some of the truly magnificent goals that have stood out in previous edition within the past decade. ### NUMBER 5: Gareth Bale (Wales Vs England 2016 Group Stage) https://media.giphy.com/media/6uzLjXDS7EGiPk1REZ/giphy.gif [Source](https://youtu.be/l6ir_WrCojs) Bale, who also scored from a set-piece in the last game (against Slovakia) took this free-kick from close to 35 yards out and hit a powerful shot over the wall. Although the England goalie Joe Hart got a hand to it, the shot from Bale was too hot for him to keep out. Unfortunately even though Bale’s free-kick gave Wales the lead, England eventually recovered and ran out 2-1 victors on the day with goals from Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge. ### NUMBER 4: Éder (Portugal v France, 2016 Final) https://media.giphy.com/media/vYWBTZUWx7qHbAonnh/giphy.gif [Source](https://youtu.be/nLN9mEP_T5A) This was the goal that crowned the current title-holders Portugal with their first ever European title. Playing against France(the host country) in the final, it seemed all hope was lost especially when their star player Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted in the first half with injury. However Portugal preserved and took the game into extra time, and the only game in the game came from Eder in the 109th minute to hand the title to Portugal. The composure and the confidence that was required to take that shot at the time made it a memorable goal and earns it a spot here. ### NUMBER 3: Mario Balotelli (Italy Vs Germany , 2012 Semi-Final) https://media.giphy.com/media/Hyzy0qxIwDump5znqY/giphy.gif [Source](https://youtu.be/nmgrSsqyHYY) Balotelli was one of the standout players in this tournament edition. He showed his class in this match by scoring both goals that took Italy into the finals and Germany out of the competiton. His 2nd goal was a beauty. Balotelli collected a long pass from team-mate Riccardo Montolivo while successfully beating the offside trap laid by the German defenders. He utilized the vast space ahead of him, took the ball in his stride and smashed a thunderous shot past German goalie Manuel Neuer (who was rooted to the spot) from just outside the box. Truly spectacular. ### NUMBER 2: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal v Hungary, 2016 Group Stage) https://media.giphy.com/media/3o8OcCDfd1rwvEeRQP/giphy.gif [Source](https://youtu.be/3z_o7BYniNc) This match was really exciting with a final score of 3-3, and two goals were scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, and he set up one. His first goal was truly special. Joao Mario curled a brilliant ball into the six-yard box which was slightly behind Ronaldo, but he improvised brilliantly with a cheeky back-flick saw the ball fly past the outstretched Hungarian keeper and into the far corner to bring Portugal back into the game and in the competition. World-Class! ### NUMBER 1: Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland v Poland, 2016 Round of 16) https://media.giphy.com/media/oAthv1aE2RIFPnn51k/giphy.gif [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qe23AinuP8) This had Goal of the Tournament wrapped up as soon as it left his boot. An amazing strike. Coming in the dying minutes of the game that had the Swiss trailing by 1-0 just made the goal much more special. Shaqiri's astounding scissor kick finish is a goal you can't get tired of watching as it is the complete technical perfection. It was unfortunately in vain as Poland eventually won the match on Penalties and progressed to the next stage. A Puskas-worthy goal nonetheless. ** So what do you think about this list? Any additions or contrary views? I'd love to hear from you.** *All videos were in this post were from [YouTube](Youtube.com) and were made into gifs using [Giphy](https://giphy.com/)*