VIDEO: Giovinco's dazzling goal clinches historic playoff spot for Toronto FC
On Tuesday evening, Sebastian Giovinco was in Rome, coming on as a substitute to help the Italian national team top Norway in Euro 2016 qualifying.
The New York Red Bulls probably wish he stayed there. Or, at the very least, that his flight was delayed. It wasn't.
The pint-sized Italian - the favourite to win Major League Soccer's MVP award after a season in which he has become a permanent fixture in the nightmares of defenders - landed roughly three hours before the opening whistle of Wednesday night's contest against the Red Bulls, and proceeded to once again make the sport look like a video game.
Giovinco, just like he did with the Azzurri, came off the bench in the second half, and scored a stunning goal that was as beautiful as it was momentous. The left-footed strike, after a winding run that sliced through four defenders, ultimately stood up to be the winner in a 2-1 victory, and clinched Toronto FC's first-ever playoff berth in the club's ninth season of existence.
Related: Toronto FC clinches 1st-ever playoff spot with win vs. New York Red Bulls
Thank goodness for planes. Signed, Toronto.