How Did Euro 2024 Fare in Terms of Historical Stats?

Germany’s seven-year bid to host Europe’s men’s premier international football competition ended when the final of the UEFA Euro 2024 was held in the legendary Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) in the nation’s capital, Berlin. To what extent were records set in the competition?

Screenshot youtube.com/@OptusSport

With Spain’s victory—taking home its record-setting fourth continental title—Euro 2024 concluded after more than four weeks and 51 football matches. Its total viewership is estimated to have topped five billion live viewers. Although Europe’s top international football competition continues to draw spectators from around the world, its overall performance tells a different story for the continent as a whole, not just Germany, one of diminishing glory and hard reality: political activism (Mbappé), train delays or cancelations, nationalist chants and gestures by Turkish and Albanian players… However, here we’ll focus on what the sports brought in terms of first-time achievements.

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Spain Claims Record-Breaking 4th Continental Title

Spain won its fourth title at the UEFA European Championship, surpassing Germany’s previous record of three.
Additionally, after losing to France in the 1984 European Championship, Spain triumphed in four straight major tournament finals (Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2012, and Euro 2024).

Spain Becomes First Team to Win 7 Straight Euro Matches

No side had ever won seven games in any of the seven Euros tournaments, which consist of three group stage matches and three knockout games, plus the final, prior to this summer’s competition, even though the likelihood of a team doing so has increased with the size of the previous three editions. Spain was three out of three in its group stage matches, then it moved on to win all four of its knockout games, including the title decider, this summer.
Not many teams were 7-0-0 at major events – only two: Italy (World Cups 1934 and 1938) and Brazil (2002 World Cup).

Spain Scores Most Goals in Single Euro Tournament

With 15 goals in this tournament, Spain set the new record for scoring in a single European Championship event.
They surpassed France, who netted 14 times during the Euro 1984 which it hosted.

Yamal’s All-Round Play Record

Lamine Yamal, a teenage star from Spain, made history by being the first player to score or provide an assist in a single European Championship’s quarterfinal, semifinal, and final. In the competition, he recorded four assists, three of which came during the knockout phase and one in the final.
Yamal tied with compatriot Dani Olmo’s and England’s Luke Shaw for three assists through knockout rounds at Euro 2020.
Yamal Becomes Youngest Euro Participant, Scorer, and Final Match Participant
The day after turning 17, Yamal set an age record on Sunday by being the youngest player to compete in a European Championship final. Yamal is nearly two years younger than Renato Sanches, who represented Portugal in the 2016 final at the age of 18 years and 36 days.
In Spain’s opening game against Croatia, Yamal became the youngest player in Euro history at the age of 16 years, 338 days. In the semi-final match against France, he also became the youngest scorer at the age of 16 years, 362 days.
In addition to participating in every Euro 2024 game, he’s younger than the legendary Brazilian Pelé, who was 17 years and 249 days old when he participated in the 1958 World Cup final. Furthermore, Pelé was older than Yamal when he scored his first goal in a World Cup.

England’s Title Drought Remains Longest Ever

The current 58-year title drought for England is the longest of any previous FIFA World Cup champion. Interestingly, online bookmakers in Europe gave the “Three Lions” the most chances of getting crowned at this Euro before the tournament commenced. Oh, how they missed!
The next-longest drought was Italy’s 29-year run (1938 World Cup – Euro 1968) without a major international trophy.
First Country to Lose 2 Straight Finals in History of Euros Is England

More suffering for England

Following its defeats on Sunday by Spain and Italy in the Euro 2020 final, England is now the first team to lose back-to-back European Championship finals. The first head coach to lose two of these finals was Gareth Southgate.

Earliest and Latest Goals Scored

In just 23 seconds during Albania’s first group-stage match against Italy, Nedim Bajrami scored the team’s totally unexpected first goal—the earliest in Euros history.
Kevin Csoboth of Hungary scored the latest goal in Euros history against Scotland in regular time, even though a time of 99 minutes and 33 seconds was clocked.

First Time in Euros History, All 4 Teams in One Group Finish on Same Points

For the first time in Euros history, all four teams finished with the same number of points in one group, which was Group E.

After winning one, drawing one, and losing one of their group matches, Romania, Belgium, Slovakia, and Ukraine were separated from each other by just a few goals. You have to feel bad for Ukraine, who finished bottom of its group even though it won as many games as Romania and England. In the history of the Euros, Ukraine became the first team to win four points and place last in its group.

There are more interesting statistics that could’ve been mentioned here, but they were at the level with those from previous tournaments, so they don’t fall into the “first time in history” category. However, the titleholder Spain should beware of one of such close-to-records.

The defending champions were eliminated in the round of 16 for the third time in the competition at this Euro in Germany. Following Spain’s exit in 2016 and Portugal’s in 2020, Italy was eliminated in the round of 16 by Switzerland this summer. That’s three tournaments in a row when the champions from the previous edition haven’t advanced past the first round of knockouts.

Take heed, Spain, in 2028!