We’re just weeks away from European Championships and fans are hoping their country will be the winners. UK teams are just praying they do better in the Euros than Eurovision. If you are looking to follow the championships, then a good knowledge of statistics helps. That’s especially the case if you are looking to place a few bets. Let’s take a look at Euro 2021 in numbers.
Euros on the Horizon
European Championships by Numbers
The European Championships were first held in 1960 with the first to win the trophy being the Soviet Union. Only three countries have become European champions on more than one occasion. France has won it twice and as current world champions will fancy their chances of a third triumph. The two countries that have the record number of wins are Germany and Spain, both in with a chance this summer.
Two of the titles won by the Germans were won while being known as West Germany. Spain won the second European Championships in 1964. They had to wait until 2008 for their second win and then retained the title four years later.
Spain is in fact the only country that has ever retained the European Championship. This year it’s Portugal who is bidding to become the second to achieve the feat. Only twice have the European champions made it to the next final but lose. The Soviet Union did that in 1964 and West Germany in 1976.
Portugal has won the 2018/19 Nations League since their Euro 2016 victory but had a disappointing World Cup three years ago. They will be hoping for more stellar performances from Cristiano Ronaldo. He’ll be a record-breaker this summer as this will be his fifth European Championships having made his debut in 2004.
He already holds the record for the most games played with 21, winning Euro 2016 helped him get that record. Just playing seven minutes this summer will mean he’s played for 30 hours in the Euro finals.
They are no longer a one-man team though. With players such as Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix, Ruben Dias, Andre Silva, Ruben Neves and Bernardo Silva, Portugal are title contenders. They do need to get through the Group of Death with France, Germany and Hungary but a third-place can be enough.
The most goals scored in a European Championships final is nine by Michel Platini in 1984. Only five games were played by Platini and he scored in every one of them, including two hat-tricks. There’s a chance that record could be matched or beaten this summer. Players such as Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe will be hopeful of doing just that.
The team over at free bet offers have put together this really cool infographic picking apart all the big numbers for one of the most anticipated football tournaments in years. Fans from all around the world will be tuning in to watch the football elite take to the field.
England Look to Make a Statement
England has made it to 10 Euro finals but has never reached a final. Their best-ever performance was in 1968 (when reigning world champions) and when hosting the tournament in 1996. Not since 2012 has England made it to the last eight.
Of their last eight appearances in the finals, only three times have they won more than one match. Not once since the Euros began, have England won more than two games in a tournament. They will certainly hope to do a lot better than that this summer.
If they do make the final for the first time, the match will be played at Wembley. In the history of the European Championships, the final has only been won by a host nation on three occasions. It happened in 1964 and 1968 with wins for Spain and Italy. Not until 1984 did that happen again when France won the title on home soil. They nearly became the first team to do it twice in 2016 but lost in the final to Portugal. France would make history if reaching 2020 final and being beaten. No country has reached two consecutive finals without winning either of them.
One of England’s biggest matches will be the group game against Scotland. The Scots last made it to the Euros finals in 1996 and lost to England in a group match. They have never made it into the knock-out stages and scored only in two games. It’s their first appearance in any major finals since 1998. We know they can take penalties though, both the play-off wins that got them to these finals were via penalty shoot-outs.
Wales are in only their second major finals. Their only other one was at Euro 2016 and they made it all the way to the semi-finals, winning four matches (more than England have ever managed). They may have a few problems off the pitch but will be all out to again do well in the Euros. There might not be too many goals though. Nine of their last ten qualifying matches had under 2.5 goals scored in them.
If you are going to be betting on Euro 2020 checking out the statistics is so important. Knowing previous results between countries can help you get winners. For example, the opening fixture is Italy against Turkey. The last two games between these two countries have ended 1-1, could history repeat itself in June, only time will tell.
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