Euro 2016: Hal Robson-Kanu set to go clubbing

Currently without a club, Wales striker Hal Robson-Kanu placed himself squarely in the shop window with a goal of shimmering audacity in his side’s Euro 2016 quarter-final victory over Belgium.

With the score 1-1 early in the second half in Lille on Friday, the 27-year-old gathered a cross from Aaron Ramsey and took three defenders out of the game with an exquisite Cruyff turn before confidently placing a shot past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

It inspired Wales to a 3-1 win that sent them into their first major semi-final, where they will face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, and left onlookers hailing one of the greatest goals in Welsh football history.

“Hal Robson-Kanu sent Thomas Meunier for a cup of tea and a piece of toast with that turn there!” said former Wales striker John Hartson on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“If I was a chairman of a Premier League club I would be making Hal Robson-Kanu my next signing. What a goal.”

Having been released by second-tier Reading when his contract expired on Thursday, Robson-Kanu’s 55th-minute strike at a drizzly Stade Pierre-Mauroy completed a remarkable 24 hours.

He went into the tournament having scored only two goals for Wales, but has doubled his tally in France with two crucial strikes.

“Hal, once he’s in that mood where he was up for everything and anything, he’s a defender’s nightmare,” said Wales manager Chris Coleman. “We’re delighted he got his goal. I thought he was awesome in his work rate tonight. He des-erved it.”