Euro 2020: 10 interesting stats from the Round of 16
Ukraine completed an unexpected quarter-final lineup at Euro 2020 with a dramatic extra-time winner against ten-men Sweden in Glasgow. The Scandinavian nation almost held out for a penalty shootout after being reduced to ten men at the start of extra time, but Artem Dobvyk had other ideas.
Earlier in the day, old foes England and Germany collided in a blockbuster pre-quarter-final clash at the Wembley Stadium. The Three Lions emerged victorious after scoring two unanswered second-half goals through Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane. The result meant all three Group of Death teams - France, Portugal and Germany - exited Euro 2020 in the Round of 16.
Holders Portugal were dumped out of the tournament by Belgium, while Switzerland prevailed over France in a penalty shootout. The Swiss scored twice to overturn a two-goal deficit in the last 15 minutes of regular time to force extra time. A few hours earlier, Croatia scripted a similar comeback against Spain only for La Furia Roja to score twice without reply in extra time to reach the quarter-finals.
Italy conceded their first goal at Euro 2020 but recovered to beat Austria. But another European powerhouse, the Netherlands, were not so lucky against the Czech Republic, as they fell to a 2-0 defeat. Meanwhile, Denmark continued their fairy-tale run at Euro 2020, thrashing Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales 4-0.
On that note, let's have a look at ten interesting stats from the UEFA Euro 2020 Round of 16.
#10 Ukraine beat Sweden at Euro 2020 to reach their first quarter-final at the European Championships
The last Round of 16 match at Euro 2020 lived up to its billing and the hype set up by the previous ties. Ukraine beat their more illustrious opponents, Sweden, to reach the quarter-finals for the first time at the European Championships.
After Oleksandr Zinchenko gave Ukraine the lead in Glasgow, Emil Forsberg restored parity for Sweden on the cusp of half-time. Both teams hit the woodwork in the second half as the game went into extra time.
That marked a record fourth game in the same knockout round at the European Championships going into extra time. Ukraine scored a 121st-minute winner to stun Sweden, as Artem Dovbyk came off the bench to emerge as the match-winner.
Interestingly, Ukraine had only finished third in their group and qualified for the Euro 2020 knockouts as one of the four best third-placed teams.
#9 Marcus Danielson becomes the fourth player to receive a red card in extra-time at the European Championships
Despite Sweden hitting the woodwork twice and Ukraine once, the last Round-of-16 game at Euro 2020 went to extra time.
After Sweden made three attacking changes to force the issue before going into penalties, a moment of madness from Marcus Danielson cost the Scandinavian nation dearly.
The Swedish center-back won the ball but also made an atrocious follow-through on Artem Beseydin. After a VAR check, the referee had no option but to hand the defender a straight red card. That made Danielson only the fourth player in European Championships history to be sent off in extra time.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, Sweden almost forced penalties before Dovbyk scored in added time to break Swedish hearts.
#8 England keep clean sheets in their opening four matches at a major tournament for the first time since the 1966 FIFA World Cup
Touted as one of the pre-tournament favorites, England looked stout in defense but shy at the other end as they topped the group stage of Euro 2020 without conceding a goal.
In their first stern examination of their title credentials, the Three Lions beat their old foes Germany 2-0 at the Wembley Stadium to reach the quarter-finals. The result meant England kept clean sheets in their first four games at a major tournament for the first time since their 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning campaign.
Interestingly, England are yet to win a major title since then. So the Three Lions will be quietly confident about their chances at Euro 2020 after beating Joachim Low's men.
#7 France have been eliminated in their last three games at major tournaments in which they played extra time
France failed in their bid to win successive World Cup and European Championship titles when they fell to Switzerland in a penalty shootout.
After the Swiss opened the scoring and missed a penalty that would have given them a 2-0 lead, a quickfire Karim Benzema brace put France in the ascendancy. When Paul Pogba scored a long-range stunner to double Les Bleus' lead on the night with 15 minutes left, France were within touching distance of the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
But that was not going to be the last piece of action on a dramatic night as Switzerland scored twice to force extra time. In the ensuing penalty shootout, the Swiss went perfect from the spot, scoring all five penalties, while Kylian Mbappe saw his spot-kick saved by Yann Sommer, which confirmed France's elimination.
That marked the third time since the 2006 FIFA World Cup final against Italy that Les Bleus came up short in extra time at a major tournament. France also lost the 2016 European Championship final on home soil against Portugal in extra time.