Euro 2024: Key facts and figures from the group stages
From the youngest players to the oldest and the milestones in between, here are some key figures from the Euro 2024 group stages.
Football
With the group games concluding on Wednesday (26 June), football fans around the world are now patiently waiting for the knockout stage of Euro 2024.
Debutants Georgia are the tale of the tournament so far, beating one of the favourites Portugal to punch their ticket to the round of 16.
Not only that, but their no.22 Georges Mikautadze is leading the race for the Golden Boot with three goals.
Before they look to complete another dramatic upset on the big stage by knocking out Spain on Saturday (29 June), Olympics.com is taking a look back at some of the key numbers behind the group stages…
Nedim Bajrami scores for Albania vs Italy.
Euro 2024: Key numbers behind the group stages
23 – Albania’s lightening start
Before Albania clashed with Italy, the fastest goal scored at the European Championships had taken one minute and seven seconds. That goal dates back 20 years, to Euro 2004, when Dmitri Kirichenko put Russia ahead against Greece.
But on 15 June, Albania’s Nedim Bajrami fired the underdogs ahead against the defending champions with just 23 seconds on the clock.
While the Italians overturned the deficit soon after, and Albania eventually exited the competition before the last 16, their gutsy campaign is forever written in the history books.
Romano Schmid scored 900th goal in Euro history when he struck vs the Netherlands.
900 – A landmark goal for Schmid
Austria’s final group game against the Netherlands was a significant one for many reasons, as well as being arguably one of the most entertaining clashes of Euro 2024 so far.
A five-goal thriller that saw Austria win 3-2 helped Ralf Rangnick’s side top the group, forcing an underwhelming French side to qualify as runners-up.
But it was Romano Schmid’s goal just before the hour mark that proved significant, becoming the 900th goal scored in Euro history.
He joins the likes of Thierry Henry and Nani as players who have bagged milestones in the competition’s history.
Lamine Yamal is the youngest player to ever play at the Euros.
16 years, 338 days – Spain’s Yamal makes history
It defies belief that a 16-year-old, born in 2007, is playing at Euro 2024. Not just featuring, but being a key player for Spain at that.
That is exactly what Lamine Yamal is doing.
It has been quite the breakthrough season for the teenager, who has become an integral part of FC Barcelona last year. In September 2023, he received his first call-up to the national team and has not looked back since.
Now, Yamal is the youngest player to ever feature at a Euros, beating Kacper Kozlowski’s record from 2020 - held in 2021 - when he featured for Poland at the age of 17 years 246 days. This new record may take some beating, though.
Luka Modric became the oldest player to score at the Euros with his goal against Italy.
38 years, 338 days – Modric’s milestone
From the youngest milestone to the oldest. While Luka Modric was not the oldest player to star at this year’s tournament – that title belongs to Portugal's 41-year-old defender Pepe – the midfielder’s age did factor for another significant moment.
In what could have been his last game at a European Championship, Modric fired Croatia ahead against Italy, just moments after missing a penalty, in what was a must-win game for them to reach the last 16. At 38 years 338 days old, he had become the oldest player to score in Euro history.
Italy would eventually equalise at the death to make it 1-1, breaking Croatian hearts and cutting their tournament short.
Each team in Group E finished with the same points, for the first time in Euro history.
4 – Group E makes history
What unfolded in Group E was unlike anything the European Championships had ever seen before.
Home to Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine, the quartet all finished with an almost identical record. Played three, won one, drawn one, lost one. Four points each.
Ultimately it would come down to the goal difference, of which Ukraine were inferior with -2 GD. They became the first team to finish bottom of a group while earning four points.
It was a first in Euro history, but coincidentally enough it has happened at the World Cup before back in 1994, also in Group E.