Yes my friends, now that Euro 2024 is over, it’s time to do some number crunching.
That means it’s time to look at the key stats and the records that were broken along the way.
A month’s worth of Euro 2024 highlights in Germany may not have ended the way you thought – certainly I was predicting a home success this summer.
It may not also have gone as the SBOTOP Euro 2024 betting odds predicted.
But what, pretty much universally, everyone could agree on was that the nation which is now champion of Europe, fully deserved it.
It was Viva Espana as Spain became the first team to win six matches at a European Championship. And then they won a seventh!
Before this summer, no team had ever won six games at any of the seven editions of the Euros with three group-stage games and three knockout games.
Yet Luis de la Fuente’s men won all three group stage contests, and in the process became only the second side in European Championship history to win all of their group games without conceding a single goal, and then won all four of their knockout games to end the argument for anyone who doubted their credentials.
To put into context, defeated finalists England, who are now looking for a new manager after the end of the Gareth Southgate era, won two games in normal time.
In addition, across the whole four weeks, they only led for stoppage time (in the semi-final) against Holland, for 25 minutes of extra-time against Switzerland, for 16 minutes against Denmark, and for a chunk of their last-16 tie versus Serbia.
In total, they led for just 19% of their games, although that doesn’t tell us too much as a favourable draw allowed them to be in contention for the trophy right until the end before England became the first nation to lose consecutive finals.
Elsewhere, it was a stats man’s dream.
For a start, the fastest and latest goals were both scored at a European Championships.
Nedim Bajrami netted a completely unexpected opener for Albania against Italy after only 23 seconds in their first group game.
Little over a week later, Hungary’s Kevin Csoboth scored the latest ever Euros goal in normal time against Scotland, clocked at 99 minutes, 33 seconds.
In Group D, three goals were scored in France’s matches but none by an attacker in open play or even a free-kick – the sum total was two penalties and one own goal.
Group E was the first in history to see all four teams finish on the same points.
Romania, Belgium, Slovakia, and Ukraine were only separated by goals after each of them won one, drew one, and lost one of their group games.]
As a result, you have to spare a thought for Ukraine who were eliminated despite winning as many games as Romania and earning more points than Slovenia who did reach the last 16.
Other quirky statistics include the fact there were as many victories for teams who had trailed at half-time (three) as there had been in the last three European Championships combined.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic scored more goals than nine teams in the group stage, but only picked up one point as they finished bottom of Group F – injury-time goals conceded to both Portugal and Turkey turned what would have been 1-1 draws into sucker-punch 2-1 defeats.
Despite bowing out in the quarter-finals, the now retired Toni Kroos made at least 43 more line-breaking passes than anyone else.
The midfield maestro also topped the charts for successful passes in the opposition half (306) and successful passes ending in the final third.
And for a third consecutive tournament, the reigning champions only made it to the round of 16. Spain beware in 2028.
We should finish with Spain, just as we started, for they were a breath of fresh air and La Roja actually featured six of the 11 players named in the official team of the tournament.
Of course, one man stood out and that was Lamine Yamal who became the first teenager to record three assists at the European Championships and then added a fourth for good measure in the final.
Turning 17 the day before the showpiece in Berlin, his total is higher than any other Spanish player has ever managed at the tournament, and also the joint-most on record (since 1980) by any player of any nationality in the competition’s history.
He’s so young that he’ll have another major tournament – the 2026 World Cup – at which he’ll still be a teenager!
Viva Espana!
UEFA Team of the Tournament: Mike Maignan (France); Kyle Walker (England), Manuel Akanji (Switzerland), William Saliba (France), Marc Cucurella (Spain); Daniel Olmo (Spain), Rodri (Spain), Fabian Ruiz (Spain); Lamine Yamal (Spain), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Nico Williams (Spain).
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
