One thing the European Championships have delivered in the past is goals and Euro 2024 is set to be no different. Since the tournament began in 1960, several goal records have been broken over and over again by both individuals and teams, with the latest event in Germany set to see more milestones reached.
WHO HAS SCORED THE MOST GOALS IN EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY?
With 14 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest scorer in the competition’s history.
He scored his first European Championship goal and first international goal for Portugal in a 2-1 group-stage defeat to Greece at Euro 2004, before adding his second in the same tournament in the semi-final win over Netherlands.
At Euro 2008, he scored his only goal in a 3-1 group stage win over Czech Republic.
Four years later, he scored twice in a 2-1 group stage win over Netherlands as well as the winning goal against Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.
At Euro 2016, Ronaldo scored twice in a 3-3 group stage draw against Hungary before the opener in the 2-0 semi-final victory over Wales.
At Euro 2020, he had his best return of five goals, again scoring twice against Hungary in a 3-0 win, another in a 4-2 defeat to Germany and a brace in a 2-2 draw against France.
On Saturday June 15 Alvaro Morata scored his seventh goal for Spain at European Championships, moving to joint-third on the list.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 14 goals in five championships
Michel Platini (France) – 9 goals in one championship
Antoine Griezmann (France) – 7 goals in two championships
Alan Shearer (England) – 7 goals in three championships
Alvaro Morata (Spain) – 7 goals in three championships
Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands) – 6 goals in two championships
Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands) – 6 goals in three championships
Wayne Rooney (England) – 6 goals in three championships
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) – 6 goals in two championships
Thierry Henry (France) – 6 goals in three championships
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) – 6 goals in four championships
Nuno Gomes (Portugal) – 6 goals in three championships
WHO HAS SCORED THE MOST GOALS IN A SINGLE TOURNAMENT?
Michel Platini netted a remarkable nine times as France marched through the 1984 tournament to win the competition for the first time.
The legendary playmaker scored the only goal of the opening match against Denmark, before a hat-trick in the 5-0 hammering of Belgium and rounding off the group stage with another treble in a 3-2 win over Yugoslavia.
Platini eased up in the knockouts with the winning goal against Portugal in the last minute of extra time in the semi-final, before opening the scoring against Spain as France were 2-0 victors.
The next closest on the list is Platini’s compatriot Antoine Griezmann, who scored six times at the 2016 tournament.
WHO HAS WON THE GOLDEN BOOT?
YEAR TOP SCORER(S) # OF GOALS SCORED
1960 Francois Heutte (France), Viktor Ponedelnik (USSR), Valentin Ivanov (USSR), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Milan Galic (Yugoslavia) 2
1964 Jesus Maria Pereda (Spain), Ferenc Bene (Hungary), Deszo Novak (Hungary) 2
1968 Dragan Dzajic (Yugoslavia) 2
1972 Gerd Muller (West Germany) 4
1976 Dieter Muller (West Germany) 4
1980 Klaus Allofs (West Germany) 3
1984 Michel Platini (France) 9
1988 Marco van Basten (Netherlands) 5
1992 Henrik Larsen (Denmark), Karl-Heinz Riedle (Germany), Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands), Tomas Brolin (Sweden) 3
1996 Alan Shearer (England) 5
2000 Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands), Savo Milosevic (Yugoslavia) 5
2004 Milan Baros (Czech Republic) 5
2008 David Villa (Spain) 4
2012 Fernando Torres (Spain)*, Alan Dzagoev (Russia), Mario Gomez (Germany), Mario Mandzukic (Croatia), Mario Balotelli (Italy), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 3
2016 Antoine Griezmann (France) 6
2020 (held in 2021) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)**, Patrik Schick (Czech Republic) 5
*Torres awarded Golden Boot due to an assist/playing the fewest minutes of other players who scored three goals.
**Ronaldo awarded Golden Boot due to having one assist.
WHO HAS SCORED IN THE MOST TOURNAMENTS?
Cristiano Ronaldo’s longevity at the top of the sport has seen him feature in five tournaments ahead of Euro 2024, scoring at least once in each of the 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2020 editions.
WHO HAS SCORED THE MOST GOALS IN A FINAL?
In the long history of the tournament, no player has scored more than twice in a final, with only three players managing the feat.
Interestingly, all three players hail from Germany/West Germany with these famous braces enough to win the competition for that nation.
Gerd Muller first scored twice in the 3-0 win over the Soviet Union 1972 final before Horst Hrubesch bagged his double against Belgium in the 2-1 win in 1980. Oliver Bierhoff then emulated this feat at Euro 1996, again in a 2-1 win, this time over Czech Republic.
WHO HAS SCORED THE MOST HAT TRICKS AT THE EUROS?
Michel Platini’s two trebles in 1984 against Belgium and Yugoslavia respectively make him the only player to score more than one hat-trick in the competition’s history.
WHAT IS THE HIGHEST-SCORING GAME AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS?
The highest-scoring game in the history of the competition occurred in its very first match back in 1960 as hosts France took on Yugoslavia at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Yugoslavia took an early lead which was immediately cancelled out before France scored either side of the break to establish a 3-1 lead. The Balkan side pulled one back before France restored their two-goal cushion.
Remarkably, three goals in five minutes saw Yugoslavia turn the game on its head to win 5-4.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST WIN AT THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS?
Five teams have won by a five-goal margin in the history of the European Championships.
The highest scoring of these however was the Netherlands’ 6-1 win over Yugoslavia in 2000.
The others were:
France 5–0 Belgium (1984)
Denmark 5–0 Yugoslavia (1984)
Sweden 5–0 Bulgaria (2004)
Slovakia 0–5 Spain (2020)
Be the first to comment