Puskas Award 2021 finalists named

The three finalists for the 2021 FIFA Puskas Award have been named, with Erik Lamela's north London derby 'Rabona' for Spurs against Arsenal among the nominations.

Patrik Schick's halfway line strike for the Czech Republic against Scotland at Euro 2020 is also a final contender, as is Mehdi Taremi's superb overhead kick for Porto in a Champions League tie with Chelsea is the third and final entry.

Son Heung-min took home the 2020 Puskas Award after his magnificent solo goal in Tottenham's 5-0 win over Burnley in the 2019/20 season, while the likes of Neymar, Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are among the high-profile names to have won the gong in the past.

The winner will be selected by a panel of footballing legends and fans registered on FIFA's website and announced at the FIFA Best Awards on 17 January.

Here's a look at the final three entries in more detail.

1. Erik Lamela vs Arsenal

Erik Lamela didn't score a lot of goals in his eight years at Tottenham, but most of them were pretty memorable.

His cheeky 'Rabona' effort away at bitter rivals Arsenal was the second that he scored in the lilywhite of Spurs, putting them a goal up at the Emirates Stadium.

In typical Lamela fashion, he ended up getting sent off and Tottenham lost the derby. True to the brand.

2. Patrik Schick vs Scotland

The audacity for Schick to score from the halfway line against a Scotland side playing on home soil at their first major tournament in over two decades was pure *chef's kiss*.

No offence to goalkeeper David Marshall - a Premier League Years icon in his own right - but the sight of him tumbling into his own net trying to get a hand on Schick's shot and then getting stuck in said net was highly amusing.

3. Mehdi Taremi vs Chelsea

When 90min's Matt O'Connor-Simpson ranked all 11 nominees for the Puskas Award back in November, Taremi's lusciously technical overhead kick only ranked in fifth.

We're not saying FIFA are wrong, but with Porto already crashing out of the Champions League regardless of this strike, it did feel a little inconsequential and was marked down accordingly.

Whatever. Hardly a life or death situation and the strike was lovely. Well played, Mehdi.