It has been 100 years since they staged an Olympic event at this stadium in Colombes: those were the 1924 Games made famous in Chariots of Fire. A century later Nick Park picked up where Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams left off with a spectacular Hollywood finish of his own – his first international goal on his Olympic debut – to set Great Britain’s men on their way to an impressive 4-0 win over Spain in their Pool A opener.
This storied venue also hosted the 1938 World Cup final but can’t have witnessed many better strikes than Park’s solo effort late in the first quarter when GB had been under the cosh. The 25-year-old dispossessed one opponent just inside the Spanish half before setting off on a 40m run, brushing off another defender, drawing the keeper, and flicking the ball high into the top right corner. Park has 19 caps and had never scored: this one bore all the hallmarks of Maradona or Messi.
