Euro 2016: Stat toppers from the tournament
After a month of football, the 51st game at UEFA Euro 2016 saw Portugal crowned the champions for the first time ever after beating France 1-0 in extra-time at the Stade de France in Paris. 12 years after losing a final at home themselves, they did to France what Greece did to them in 2004 – deny the host nation a triumph on home soil.
An Eder goal was enough to separate the two sides even after Cristiano Ronaldo was stretchered off in the first half following a knee injury. The Seleccao captain refused to be taken to the hospital for scans and remained at the stadium to encourage his teammates from the touchline.
Portugal became the 10th country to win the coveted trophy – a win after having played 35 games in the tournament’s history. In spite of winning just one game in normal time (the 2-0 semi-final win over Wales), Fernando Santos managed to keep his promise and bring the cup back to the Iberian side.
We look at the various stat toppers over the entire tournament.
Most Goals: Antoine Griezmann
When Griezmann scored his sixth goal of the tournament – the second of a brace in France’s semi-final win over Germany – there were already comparisons made with Michel Platini. The French midfield legend had inspired Les Bleus to the 1984 Euro championship on home soil with nine goals in the tournament.
Sadly, Griezmann could not accomplish the same feat in spite of having chances to score in the final. He burst into life only in the knockout stages after Didier Deschamps changed his starting lineup and the Atletico Madrid striker fed off the likes of Olivier Giroud to eventually top the goalscoring charts.
The next best? Six players on three goals each.
| # | Player | Country | Minutes | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antoine Griezmann | France | 555 | 6 |
| 2 | Alvaro Morata | Spain | 289 | 3 |
| Dimitri Payet | France | 506 | 3 | |
| Gareth Bale | Wales | 533 | 3 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 625 | 3 | |
| Nani | Portugal | 706 | 3 |
Most Shots on Goal: Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal skipper Ronaldo was on a mission to deliver for his country and he was desperately trying to prove that judging by the number of shots he took on goal. Although many were feeble attempts which were easily saved, the fact that he was getting chances made the many defenders sweat.
His partnership with Nani was also fruitful, having assisted him a couple of times to allow Portugal to score. Ronaldo took home the Silver Boot but he was gracious enough to give the award to Nani after the game.
| # | Player | Country | Minutes | Shots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 625 | 45 |
| 2 | Antoine Griezmann | France | 555 | 28 |
| 3 | Gareth Bale | Wales | 533 | 26 |
Most Shots without scoring: Kevin De Bruyne
Belgium were labeled the dark horses of the tournament but eventually failed to live up to their potential to go far in the tournament. Marc Wilmots’ side had topped the FIFA rankings at the turn of the year and are still the highest ranked European team at #2.
A loss against Italy in the group stage opener was followed by a couple of inspiring performances. But they eventually fell short in the quarter-finals as Wales knocked them out with a resounding 3-1 win. The £55m rated Kevin De Bruyne had a torrid time and, in spite of setting up chances, he was unable to get on the score sheet himself.
Germany also faltered at the semi-final stage and one of their biggest culprits was Thomas Muller not getting on the scoresheet even once. With 10 World Cup goals to his name, Muller even failed to score in the penalty shootout against Italy – a truly disappointing tournament for the Bayern Munich man.
| # | Player | Country | Shots |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | 21 |
| 2 | Thomas Muller | Germany | 20 |
| 3 | Toni Kroos | Germany | 15 |