April 23, 2022 - 18-year-old Croatian footballer Roko Šimić was RB Salzburg's hero on Friday night and will play in this season's UEFA Youth League final!
You've likely heard a thing or two about wonderkid Roko Šimić, who recently made the list of the 50 best football talents of the next generation according to GOAL, with the Croatian striker coming in at #36.
“Red Bull Salzburg’s conveyor belt of attacking talent is showing no signs of slowing, with Roko Šimić set to be one of the latest strikers to emerge at the Austrian champions. The son of Croatia legend Dario Šimić, the 18-year-old joined Salzburg for €4m in the summer of 2021 having become the youngest scorer in Lokomotiva Zagreb history the previous season. Šimic, who has been likened to both Erling Haaland and Dusan Vlahovic, has since signed a fresh four-year deal at Salzburg after breaking into the first-team squad, with Real Madrid, Arsenal and Tottenham among those rumoured to be tracking him,” GOAL wrote back in March.
But Roko's talents aren't just because of his famous father Dario, who you may remember playing the shirts of Inter Milan, AC Milan, and Monaco.
Namely, the 18-year-old Roko Šimić and RB Salzburg beat Atletico Madrid 5-0. Recall, the Spanish club was better than the Hajduk Juniors this season, with the Split club losing at Poljud on penalties in the playoff round of this competition.
Šimić was unstoppable against Madrid. In the 15th minute, he brought his team to the lead, while in the 28th minute he scored a penalty for 2-0. But Roko wasn't done - he also assisted Kameri who scored 3-0 in the 44th minute!
In the second half, Sahin scored the fourth goal in the 67th minute and Dikite for 5-0 in the 89th minute.
In the final, RB Salzburg will play against Benfica, which beat Juventus 6-5 after a penalty shootout. After 90 minutes it was 2-2, with Benfica leading 2-0 with goals from Martim Neto in the 3rd and Luis Semed in the 10th minute. But at the end of the first half, Benefica played with a man down and Juventus used the upper hand to equalize at 2-2. The scorers were Chibozo in the 51st minute and Turicchi in the 73rd minute.
The final match will be played on Monday, April 25, at 6 pm.
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