Cher Ndour’s strike from deep in Pescara offered another reminder of a familiar Italian football image: a goalkeeper caught off his line, a player looking up once, and a finish that turns the length of the pitch into an invitation.
The Fiorentina midfielder produced the moment in Italy Under-21’s final Group E qualifier against Poland. Italy began the night second on 24 points, three behind the group leaders, and Ndour had already scored once before adding an extraordinary long-range effort in the 54th minute.
From more than 70 metres out, Ndour struck right-footed from inside his own half and beat Lubik completely. It was a goal built on nerve as much as distance, joining a long Serie A tradition of players punishing even the smallest advance from a goalkeeper.
Quick facts
- Cher Ndour scored twice for Italy Under-21 against Poland in Pescara.
- His second goal arrived in the 54th minute from beyond 70 metres.
- Che Adams beat Empoli goalkeeper Devis Vasquez from 47.71 metres in December 2024.
- Federico Dimarco scored from deep for Inter against Frosinone in 2023-24.
- Alessandro Florenzi’s long-range equaliser for Roma against Barcelona finished third in the 2015 FIFA Puskás Award.
The reference point for modern Italian supporters remains Alessandro Florenzi’s remarkable lob for Roma against Barcelona. With Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar in the visiting side, Florenzi sent a shot from around 55 metres over the goalkeeper to make it 1-1, setting the Olimpico roaring within seconds.
That goal later took third place in the 2015 FIFA Puskás Award. It was not simply a spectacular finish; it became one of those Roman European nights remembered as much for the disbelief in the stands as for the result.
Serie A had seen the same instinct long before. In the 17th round of the 1998 season, Empoli led Inter, coached by Luigi Simoni, through Carmine Esposito. Late in the match, Álvaro Recoba collected a loose ball after a rebound, glanced towards goal and struck left-footed from midfield to deny Luciano Spalletti’s Empoli side the win.
Che Adams gave the theme a more recent Granata version. On a cold Friday evening in December 2024, Torino’s forward noticed Vasquez positioned slightly away from his line during the second half against Empoli. His shot from 47.71 metres arrived in the 70th minute and settled the match for Torino.
Federico Dimarco’s contribution came at San Siro in Inter’s 2023-24 meeting with Frosinone. Receiving the ball wide on the left, he saw Stefano Turati off his line and immediately sent a left-footed effort into the net. The reaction was immediate, from the crowd to the stunned television call of “I can’t believe it.”
Sicily has supplied two entries of its own. Peppe Mascara scored one of the defining goals of the Palermo-Catania derby after meeting a lay-off with a first-time right-footed volley from deep; the ball rose high before dropping into the net at a frozen Barbera.
The finish was hailed at the time as being better than Maradona and Beckham. Yet Palermo supporters later had a response of their own: in 2012, Fabrizio Miccoli saw the ball rise after a challenge, judged the goal’s position in an instant and beat Stefano Sorrentino with a right-footed volley from distance.
Mattia Destro also brought an unconventional touch to the category during his Roma spell. Known for goals that could look borrowed from a video game — including finishes made while holding a water bottle — he controlled with his chest against Verona before striking right-footed from around halfway.
Not every goal from far out has come in open play. Josip Ilicic caught Torino goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu unprepared when Atalanta were awarded a free-kick under Gian Piero Gasperini. While the rest of the field was distracted, Ilicic’s left-footed delivery was already dropping into the goal; Papu Gomez’s bow captured the mood.
Cristiano Biraghi recreated the idea three years later. Again, a free-kick was awarded and opponents had not reset their positions when he launched a left-footed effort from his own half, sending it into the net with remarkable accuracy.
At the Bentegodi, however, Fabio Quagliarella had already left his mark. In April 2007, during Sampdoria’s match with Chievo, he received the ball with his back to goal, turned and shot from distance with barely a look at the target. Goalkeeper Vincenzo Squizzi’s expression said all that was needed.
Andrea Pirlo supplied perhaps the purest technical version in Parma against Milan. After controlling the ball and taking two touches, he drove a right-footed effort towards the top corner. Antonio Mirante stretched for it, but the ball travelled with too much precision.
Ndour’s goal belongs to that line of Italian memories: different stadiums, different seasons and different contexts, but the same moment of calculation. From Pescara to San Siro, the finish from midfield remains one of football’s quickest ways to change the atmosphere of a match.
