Even though the incident was played out in Leipzig’s pouring rain instead of Guadalajara’s scorching heat, everyone who witnessed Turkey goalkeeper Mert Gunok’s jump to deftly block Christoph Baumgartner’s header will remember it for a very long time.
At the very end of a thrilling semifinal match, the stop proved to be quite important as well, keeping Austria from earning a late equalizer that manager Ralf Rangnick thought they deserved.
“We didn’t have the required luck, and I think we would have won if the game had gone into extra time.”
We had time to tie the score, but with Gordon Banks in goal, it’s hard to beat them!
When the final whistle blew seconds after Gunok’s save, his teammates were running to congratulate him, and all the experts had been talking about was Banks.
It’s Banks, Gordon. Incredible. What a time. The former England defender Matthew Upson reacted to the news by saying, “The keeper just spins it around the post; it’s a brilliant save.”
“That is excellent! “It resembles a Gordon Banks duplicate,” Lee Dixon observed on ITV.
“That save from Gunok is one of the greatest saves in Euros history,” declared Chris Sutton.