Things were looking bad. Full time had come and gone; five minutes added on for stoppages had been played. England were losing 1-0 to SlovakiaA country in central Europe. Until 1993 it was part of Czechoslovakia. - a team which had only scraped into the last 16 of the Euros after finishing third in its group. Some fans had already left the stadium in Gelsenkirchen rather than experience the agony of the final whistle. But then something miraculous happened.

Kyle Walker sent a throw-in far into the Slovakian penalty area; Marc Guehi headed it on; and with his back to the goal, Jude Bellingham launched himself into the air. Executing a perfect bicycle kick, he buried the ball in the corner of the net.  

The game went into extra time. A minute later, a header from Harry Kane secured victory for England. They had qualified for the quarter finals by the skin of their teeth.

Bellingham's amazing strike made almost every front page yesterday. "Yaaay Jude!" shouted the Daily Star. "Slova the Moon!" exclaimed Metro. "Three Lions Through After Last-Gasp Leap," proclaimed The Times.

"There are very few players who would have had the bottle to try such a difficult technique in this situation, let alone execute it to perfection," commented Daniel Zeqiri and Ben Rumsby in the Daily Telegraph. They ranked the goal third in their list of the best ever scored by England in a major tournament.

The origins of the bicycle kick are disputed. In his book Football in Sun and Shadow, Eduardo Galeano claims that it was invented by the Chilean footballer Ramon Unzaga in 1914: "Body in the air, back to the ground, he shot the ball backwards with a sudden snap of his legs, like the blades of a pair of scissors."¹

But another expert, Jorge Basadre, believes that it is even older. He cites a game in the Peruvian port of Callao in 1892, in which a local player amazed a team of British sailors.

Whatever the truth, the kick is generally acknowledged to be the most challenging move in football. Wayne RooneyA former English football player and current manager. He was considered one of the best players of the 2000s. 's ultra-athletic goal for Manchester United against Manchester City was voted the greatest in the history of the Premier League.²

But are there more difficult moves? According to Gregor Krambs writing on Straw Poll, "Different sports require a unique blend of physical prowessSkill or talent in a particular area, such as music. , mental fortitudeStrength. and technical skills, making this a particularly intriguing debate."

Other candidates include hitting a fastball in baseball. The ball can be pitched at over 95 mph, requiring a reaction time of 0.4 seconds.³

Scoring a hole in one at golf is a rare achievement even for professionals. For amateurs the chances are 12,500 to 1.⁴

The quadruple jump in figure skating - which means spinning four times in the air before landing on the ice - is incredibly challenging, as are many gymnastics moves.

Nor are difficult moves confined to sport. For ballet dancers the fouette requires enormous skill. Even catching a falling slice of toast and jam without getting your fingers sticky demands considerable hand-eye co-ordination.  

Is this the most difficult move in sport?

Yes: It requires quick thinking and extraordinary athleticism. The player is aiming at a target he or she cannot see; it is hard enough to make contact with the ball, let alone guide it towards the goal.

No: Every sport demands enormous skill if done at the highest level. To score a goal like Bellingham's also requires an element of luck: he just happened to be in the right place to meet Guehi's flick.

Or... The most difficult moves are the ones that involve the whole team rather than a single player. England cannot hope to progress further at the Euros if they have to rely on individual brilliance.

Slovakia - A country in central Europe. Until 1993 it was part of Czechoslovakia.

Wayne Rooney - A former English football player and current manager. He was considered one of the best players of the 2000s.

Prowess - Skill or talent in a particular area, such as music.

Fortitude - Strength.