A lot of things happened since the very first European Championship was carried out in 1960. Ten nations have won the tournament, more than 800 goals have been scored, and all sorts of records have been established. Whereas some records were beaten several times or continue to become even more impressive, others have not been broken in more than 60 years.
The Euro 2020: Records, Facts and Numbers
In many regards the Euro 2020 is different to the previous ones. After all, it is, due to the global pandemic, the first European Championship that ever has been postponed. For the same reason most of the matches are played in almost empty stadiums. And furthermore, it is the first Euro that does not take place in just one or two host countries, but all across the continent.
The most exciting thing about the European Championship, however, is whatever happens on the field: The goals and miskicks, the tackles and fouls, the tactics and fortunes – simply football at its finest, played by the best teams Europe has to offer. However, to bridge the time until the next game, here some interesting facts, records and numbers about the Euro 2020 and past tournaments:
Euro 2020: Most Own Goals in one Tournament
When Spain’s Pedri accidentally scored an own goal facing Croatia in the round of 16, it was the tournament’s ninth own goal in total – and that means, that there have been more own goals in the Euro 2020 than in all preceding tournaments altogether.
Euro 2020: Youngest Player(s)
The record for the youngest player to appear in a Euro was broken twice in 2021. On the 13th of June, when England faced Croatia, Jude Bellingham became with an age of 17 years and 349 days the youngest player to have ever entered the field in the tournament. Six days later though, Poland’s Kacper Kozlowski claimed the record being slightly younger, aged 17 years and 246 days.
Euro 2020: Youngest Scorer
With an age of 22 years and 8 days, Germany’s Kai Havertz so far is the youngest player that has scored a goal in the Euro 2020 – and moreover, the youngest German scorer in the entire Euro history. However, it was no all-time record. In past tournaments, there have been several players even younger than Havertz, such as record-holder Johan Vonlanthen from Switzerland, who netted against France in 2004, aged 18 years and 141 days.
Euro 2020: Oldest Player
The oldest player in the European championship 2021 was Portugal’s Pepe with an age of 38 years and four months. The all-time record however is held by Hungary’s former goalkeeper Gábor Király, who set a record participating with the age of 40 years and 86 days.
Euro 2020: Oldest Scorer
Aged 37 years and 321 days, North Macedonia’s Goran Pandev became the oldest scorer of the Euro 2021 when he scored against Austria. Also, this goal made him the second-oldest scorer in the history of European Championships. The oldest player to ever score a goal in a Euro, however, was Austria’s Ivica Vastić in 2008, who back then was 38 years and 257 days old.
Related: EXCLUSIVE: 5 Things We Learned From Spain – Switzerland Euro 2020 Quarterfinal Clash
All-time Records from past Tournaments
Euro 1968: Highest Number of Spectators at one Match
The highest number of spectators watching a game of the European Championship on-site was neither reached at Camp Nou nor at Wembley Stadium. Well, not even in recent years. This humongous spectacle took place in 1968, was a match between the everlasting rivals Scotland and England – and attracted more than 130,000 people.
Most Appearances without winning the Championship
Of all ten national teams that participated in the UEFA European Championship at least eight times or more, there is only one team that never managed to bring home the trophy: England. Whether England will snatch the trophy this year remains to be seen. But one thing is safe to say. The finals will take place in London’s Wembley Stadium, with or without the three Lions.
Euro 1960: Most Goals in one Game (without penalties)
When Spain faced Croatia in the round of 16 of this year’s Euro, it was quite an exciting shooting match, resulting in a 5-3 win for Spain. In fact, there has never been a game before, in which exactly eight goals were scored during regular play time. Still, this is not an all-time record.
In the semi-finals of the very first European Championship in 1960 France faced Yugoslavia. Just a quarter of an hour before the final whistle, France was in the lead (4-2) and certain of success. But within just five minutes, Yugoslavia stroke back with three goals, resulting in a 4-5 defeat for France as well as a record, which already lasted for more than 60 years.
Euro 2004: Most Goals in one Game (after Penalties)
The game with most goals in total, including penalties, was played in 2004. This quarter-finals match was carried out between Portugal and England and resulted in a draw (2-2). In the subsequent penalty seven more goals followed, of which four were scored by Portugal, and three by England.
All-time Top Scorer
The top scorer of all time is Cristiano Ronaldo. The living legend of the Portuguese national team scored 14 goals in total. Second ranked is French Michel Platini, who scored a total of nine goals in the EURO 1984, which makes him, after all, the player to score the most goals in just one Euro. The third rank of the all-time top scorers list is shared by Alan Shearer and Antoine Griezmann with seven goals each.
Player with Most Appearances
Besides being the top scorer of all time, is just one of several records, Cristiano Ronaldo holds. For example, Ronaldo is also the player with the most appearances in European Championships, as he played in a total of 25 matches. That makes six matches more João Moutinho and Pepe participated in, who share the runner-up position with 19 matches.
Player scoring Goals in highest Number of Tournaments
By participating in five Euros in a row (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) and scoring goals in each tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo established another record: He is the only player to have scored goals in five European Championships – throughout a time span of 17 years.
