10 interesting stats from UEFA Euro 2020
An enthralling Euro 2020 tournament came to an end on Sunday, with Italy beating England on penalties to win their second title in the competition.
The Three Lions made a brisk start at the Wembley in London, with Luke Shaw registering the fastest goal ever in European Championship history to put England in front. Italy, however, restored parity when Leonardo Bonucci scored midway through the second half.
With no more goals in the remainder of regulation time and thirty minutes of extra time, a penalty shootout ensued. England squandered a 2-1 lead, missing three consecutive spot-kicks, with the last of them from Bukayo Saka sealing a 3-2 win for Italy.
In the process, the Azzurri won their first European Championship in 53 years, creating a new record for the longest gap between successive Euro triumphs. The win also saw Italy join Germany (3), Spain (3) and France (2) as the only teams in competition history to win multiple titles.
In a goal-rich tournament - producing a European Championship record 142 goals - there were numerous other records and milestones. Some of them were unwanted ones, recorded by various players and teams during the month-long extravaganza.
Denmark made an inspired run to the semi-finals, becoming the first team in European Championship history to advance to the knockout rounds after losing their first two games. Polish custodian Wojciech Szczesny became the first keeper to score an own goal at the Euros. Switzerland dumped out reigning world champions France to reach their first major quarter-final in 67 years.
Without further ado, here's a look at the ten most interesting stats and talking points from Euro 2020:
#10 For the first time, the first goal at a European Championship was an own goal
Merih Demiral created unwanted history in the opening game of Euro 2020 between Turkey and eventual winners Italy. The Juventus centre-back inadvertently put one past his own goalkeeper to give the Azzurri a 1-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
In the process, Demiral became the first player to open the scoring at a European Championship by putting one past his own goalkeeper.
Turkey lost the game 3-0 in Rome and fared no better in their next two games. The Euro 2020 dark horses lost 2-0 to Wales and 3-1 to Switzerland to finish last in their group and exit the tournament without bagging a point.
Minnows North Macedonia were the only other team who lost all their games at Euro 2020.
#9 Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to appear and score in 5 different European Championships
Cristiano Ronaldo was a man on a mission at Euro 2020. By appearing against Hungary in Portugal's tournament opener, the 36-year-old became the first player to appear in five different European Championships.
To make it an occasion to remember, Ronaldo scored two late goals in the game, the first of which made him the first player to net in five different editions of the Euros.
Ronaldo then scored in his team's 4-1 defeat to Germany before netting two penalties in a thrilling 2-2 draw with world champions France to help Portugal avert an embarrassing group-stage exit. The second of those two goals helped Ronaldo go level with Ali Daie as the joint-most prolific goalscorer in international football.
However, with Ronaldo drawing a blank and the rest of his teammates failing to turn up, Portugal slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Belgium in the Round of 16 to end their title defence with a whimper.
#8 Federico Chiesa emulated his father Enrico to become the first father-son pair to score goals at the European Championship
Federico Chiesa was one of the stars of Italy's triumphant Euro 2020 campaign. The 23-year-old winger, who played all seven of Italy's games at the tournament, opened the scoring for the Azzurri in their 2-1 Round-of-16 win over Austria.
With the goal, Chiesa joined his father Enrico as the only father-son pair to score goals at the Euros. Enrico, who played as a centre-forward, scored his lone goal in the competition when he scored the Azzurri's lone goal in their 2-1 defeat to eventual finalists Czech Republic in a group-stage game at Euro' 96.
Federico Chiesa scored a stunner against Spain in the semi-finals, a game Italy won on penalties to reach their fourth European Championship final.
#7 Croatia and Spain's 8-goal thriller at Euro 2020 was the second-highest scoring game in European Championship history
In arguably the game of the tournament at Euro 2020, Spain beat Croatia 5-3 after extra-time in an eight-goal Round-of-16 thriller.
The three-time winners recovered from conceding a bizarre own goal and looked on course for the quarter-finals when they led 3-1 with five minutes to go. But Croatia, who were runner-ups to France at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, scored twice in quick succession to force extra time.
However, Spain recovered to score two unanswered goals in extra time to reach the Euro 2020 quarter-finals. In the process, the game became the second-highest scoring match in European Championship history.
Spain, who also scored five against Slovakia in their previous game, became the first team in European Championship history to score five goals in consecutive games in the competition.
La Roja went on to beat Switzerland on penalties in the last eight before succumbing in another shootout to eventual Euro 2020 winners Italy in the semi-final.
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