The group phase of the 2024 European Championship in Germany came to an end on Wednesday evening. After the end of this round, some trends are becoming apparent in this tournament. The numerous own goals were noticeable, while sendings off were rather rare. In addition, many age records were set and a new rule for communicating with the referee was successfully introduced. And the fans witnessed an impressive number of goals, both in injury time and from long distances.
27.06.2024 20.01
Online since today, 8:01 p.m.
There is also a new European Championship record for the most yellow cards. In the match between the Czech Republic and Turkey on the last matchday of Group F on Wednesday, the referee showed a total of 18 yellow cards. This included a yellow-red card for the Czech Republic.
Own goals: A player scored an own goal seven times. But that actually only confirmed the trend of the previous European Championship, when there were eleven own goals by the end of the tournament. That was strange at the time, though, because in the five previous European Championships there had been a total of eight. Own goals became a joke on social media. A certain “Eigen Tor” topped the list of goalscorers at the European Championship. And by a wide margin.
Goals in injury time:A record has already been set here after the preliminary round. Ten goals were scored after the 90th minute, eight years ago in France it was nine. Some goals were also very decisive. Mattia Zaccagni’s equaliser against Croatia secured Italy’s progress, while Niclas Füllkrug’s against Switzerland gave Germany the group victory.
Reuters/Angelika Warmuth Mattia Zaccagni scored Italy’s goal in the eighth minute of injury time to reach the round of 16
Goals from distance: This European Championship has produced a remarkable number of long-range goals. Of the 81 goals scored so far, 15 have been scored from outside the penalty area. These include some crucial goals, such as Arda Güler’s long-range strike against Georgia that paved the way for Turkey’s opening victory, or Morten Hjulmand’s equaliser against England from just under 31 metres out.
Only the captain may complain: All of a sudden, pack formations have almost died out – and one wonders why no one brought this measure to the forefront earlier. For the European Championship, UEFA introduced a rule that only the captains of both teams are allowed to complain to the referees about their decisions. If the captain is a goalkeeper, a player is named as his substitute. Everyone else is in danger of receiving a yellow card. The implementation worked surprisingly quickly and well, and there were significantly fewer discussions.
Old stars and young stars
Age extremes: Old age is no obstacle at this European Championship, just as young age is no obstacle. There were several age records in both directions at this 17th European Championship finals. At the age of 16, Spaniard Lamine Yamal became the youngest player to ever play in a European Championship, while Portuguese Pepe was the oldest at 41. Former world footballer Luka Modric, at the age of 38, beat Ivica Vastic’s (2008) record as the oldest European Championship goalscorer with his ultimately worthless opening goal against Italy.
Hardly any expulsions: The first expulsion came in the first half of the opening game, when the Scotsman Ryan Porteous was shown a straight red card. It was (almost) the only expulsion in the entire group phase. In the final game between Turkey and the Czech Republic, two Czechs were sent off with a yellow-red card and a red card respectively. At the end of the previous European Championship, six players were sent off. But after the preliminary round, there were only two.
