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Perfect execution and ruthless accuracy can make a dead-ball situation outside the area as dangerous as a penalty.
But in addition to scoring for your side, the sight of a free-kick flying into the back of the net is one of the most satisfying in football.
Not many footballers have the necessary skills to pull it off - but thankfully a few heading to France for Euro 2016 do and fans will be hopeful that they can find their range this summer.
As excitement builds ahead of the tournament, which begins on Friday 10 June when the hosts take on Romania, we take a look at the best free-kick takers on show. Among them is a player who will be involved in that opening match and is very familiar to supporters of a London club...
Show all 8 1 /8The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Dimitri Payet - France As West Ham fans will testify, this lad can take free-kicks. The Frenchman netted a couple in the Premier League, a couple more in the FA Cup and added another while on international duty to put himself at the head of the queue for the host nation. If he's struggling to find his range, Atletico Madrid's Antoine Griezmann knows his way around a dead-ball as well.
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The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Hakan Calhanoglu - Turkey The Bayer Leverkusen player is only 22-years-old but has already built a reputation for scoring free-kicks. He only managed the one goal from a direct free-kick this term but in the previous season he banged in a remarkable six. Despite the dip in form, the right-footer will still be Turkey's danger man if they win a free-kick around the box.
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The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Lorenzo Insigne - Italy No Pirlo? No problem. Antonio Conte has opted not to select the midfield legend but despite the absence of the man who eliminated England at the last Euros with a panenka penalty, the Azzuri still have a decent set-piece specialist. The Napoli forward scored a couple in Serie A this season.
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The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Zlatko Junuzovic - Austria Austria are some people's dark horses for this tournament following a qualification campaign that saw them go unbeaten in a group including Russia and Sweden. Among their greatest threats is Werder Bremen's free-kick specialist Junuzovic. He endured a disappointing season from dead-ball situations but the year before tucked five into the back of the net in the Bundesliga.
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The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Sweden Sweden have a few useful free-kick takers including Sunderland's Sebastian Larsson but if there is an opportunity to score from outside the box, it'll be Zlatan Ibrahimovic who takes it. The former PSG striker has swept in a couple this season, one in the French league and one in the Champions League. His stats might not be that special but the 34-year-old is capable of anything.
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The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Gareth Bale - Wales During his time at Real Madrid the former Tottenham player has only managed to score three times from free-kicks in La Liga. However that owes much to the competition to take them in the first place because there is no doubt that the Welshman can be lethal in a dead-ball situation. Not only can he score but his delivery into the box can cause chaos.
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The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo - Portugal Ronaldo will be desperate to make an impact at this tournament following his injury-induced frustrations at the 2014 World Cup and that will mean he tries to score whenever there is just the slightest of chances. In his 12 Champions League appearances this term he managed to score a couple of free-kicks which suggests he could be a danger at this tournament. Even if he doesn't manage to do so at Euro 2016, his posturing during his pre-kick build-up is pure theatre.
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The 8 best free-kick takers at Euro 2016 Gylfi Sigurdsson - Iceland Despite Iceland's tiny population they've managed to unearth a couple gems and few sparkle more than Gylfi Sigurdsson around a free-kick. Since moving to the Premier League the Swansea player is the third-most effective free-kick taker behind only Christian Eriksen and Juan Mata - both of whom aren't participating in France.
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Who do you think is the best free-kick taker at Euro 2016? Let us know in the comments below.
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