EURO 2024 quarter-finals: Top things you may not know
Here are six things you may not know about the EURO 2024 ahead of the quarter-finals.
Football
From 24 to eight; the European Championships in Germany are very much into the business end of things.
The football showpiece has been an unmissable event so far, with the quarter-finals next up on the agenda.
But before that, Olympics.com is taking a look at some of the top facts you may not know about Euro 2024 and beyond.
One of the many fan zones located across Germany for Euro 2024.
Euro 2024: Top things to know
The ‘world’s largest’ fan zone
Berlin are confident that they have created one of the world’s largest fan zones in the host city, welcoming 130,000 spectators per match hosted at The Brandenburg Gate.
With a large goal, at the centre of which is a TV screen, this ‘giant pitch’ is the place to be for people in and around the city.
From 8am to midnight, it offers a unique backdrop for fans wanting to make the most of this festival of football.
A new winner on the horizon?
On one side of the tournament bracket, there are four remaining teams who know what it takes to win the Euros. Spain, Germany, Portugal and France have been there, and done that.
But the other side of the bracket is home to just one nation that has previously lifted this prestigious trophy in the name of the Netherlands.
That leaves England, Switzerland, and Türkiye – all of which have never been crowned victors, and only the former reaching the final.
Perhaps this year could be the first time a new victor is crowned since Portugal in 2016.
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY - JUNE 20: Lamine Yamal of Spain reacts during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Spain and Italy at Arena AufSchalke on June 20, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Teenage kicks: Lamal sets new record
Tournaments like the Euros are home to some of the world’s best players.
Kylian Mbappe of France, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, Jamal Musiala of Germany – the list is endless.
But it can also be the breakout stage for some of the young talented ballers ready to make a name for themselves.
England’s Jude Bellingham had become the youngest player to feature at the Euros in 2021, but then Kacper Kozlowski of Poland – 103 days younger than Jude – earned that status six days later; both 17 at the time.
That record was broken yet again this time around, and by some margin too. At just 16 years old, Lamine Yamal starred in Spain’s curtain raiser against Croatia, in which he provided an assist in their 3-0 victory.
17th edition of the Euros
Euro 2024 is the 17th edition of the tournament, dating back to 1960 when the Soviet Union beat Yugoslavia 2-1 in extra-time to be crowned the first-ever champions of Europe.
Over the years it has gradually expanded from four teams to eight, then 16, and now 24.
For hosts Germany, it is their 14th appearance across those 17 editions, the most of any nation in Euros history.
Italy were knocked out of Euro 2024 in the Round of 16.
A unified Germany
At Euro 1996, six years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany won their first major international tournament as a unified country.
Incredibly, this is the first European Championships they have hosted as one, 35 years after West Germany hosted it in 1988.
They pipped current quarter-finalists Türkiye in the bid for it, having had previous failed attempts in 2008, 2012, and 2016.
The curse of the defending champions strikes again
Defending a title in the Euros has become a near-impossible task for participating countries.
2020 victors Italy were next in a long line of failed attempts to repeat their success, crashing out in the Round of 16 to Switzerland, losing 2-0.
There has only ever been one nation that has managed to repeat their feat in back-to-back tournaments – Spain’s golden era.
After beating Germany 1-0 in 2008, the Spaniards lifted their first Euros trophy since 1964, which happened to be just the second edition of this competition.
Spain would go on to win the 2010 World Cup, before successfully defending their Euro title in 2012 with an emphatic 4-0 win over Italy.