Records that could be broken at the Euros this year

Records are meant to be broken, and some of them are bound to at the Euros this year. At OlyBetTV, we look at various top marks that could sink into the depths of history at the tournament in Germany.

The team that scored the most goals

Although the most productive team in the history of the European Football Championship is Germany – a total of 78 goals in 13 tournaments since 1984 –, the top mark belongs to France instead. Michel Hidalgo’s men (led by Michel Platini, who scored a record nine goals) scored 14 goals in five games when they became the champions back then – a record that still stands today.

However, considering that the finalists have played seven games since the last Euros, it seems only a matter of time before this top mark is surpassed. At this point, let’s rely on the statistics, which say that last time around, an average of 2.78 goals were scored per game.

7 x 2.78 = 19.46, i.e. actually this record should have fallen three years ago. However, the crowned champions, Italy, needed one goal to reach the same level as France back then. The other successful countries – England, Spain and Denmark – also scored “merely” 11, 13 and 12 goals.

The player who has participated in the most final tournaments

If the previous top mark we mentioned might be broken, then the record in question will definitely be. Namely, 39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo is still part of the Portuguese national team, and thus he becomes the first player in history to participate in six European Championship finals.

It is true that he must step on the pitch in Germany with certainty for that, but if there won’t be any unexpected injuries, that should be a non-issue and purely a question of formality.

The oldest men in history

If Ronaldo does indeed step on the pitch, another top mark will also fall with it. Namely, the German Lothar Matthäus, who was 39 years and 91 days old when he stepped onto the pitch against Portugal in 2000, currently holds the title of the oldest outfield player in the history of the European Football Championship. However, over 100 days have already passed since Ronaldo celebrated his 39th birthday.

Depending on Portugal’s success, there could be a few more age records that will fall. The oldest player of the finals is the German Jens Lehmann (38 years 232 days) and the oldest winner is Ricardo Carvalho (38 years 53 days).

If Roberto Martinez’s men were to repeat their feat of eight years ago, for example, they would wipe both top marks from the history books. However, Ronaldo may not become the new record holder, because 41-year-old Pepe is also part of the Portuguese team.

However, the veteran midfielder has secured himself a place in the records book even without reaching the final. Because if the head coach Martinez sends him on the field for even one minute – in the friendlies in March he went on the field in both – he grabs the title of the oldest player of the Euros, from Gábor Király.

Hungary’s famous goalkeeper in sweatpants was 40 years and 86 days old when he performed his duties with Hungary in 2016.

Talking about age, it can’t be out ruled that Ivica Vastic’s top mark will also be overturned with this year’s Euros. The old champ of the Austrian national team was 38 years and 257 days old when he realized the penalty against Poland in 2008.

However, this record may not be surpassed only by Pepe (41) or Ronaldo (39), because the corresponding daily limit has also been exceeded by the Croatian maestro Luka Modric (38) and… well… technically also by the (second) goalkeeper of the Scotland national team, Craig Gordon (41).

The youngest men in history

For the past 20 years, the honour of being the youngest goal scorer in the history of the Euros belongs to the Swiss Johan Vonlanthen, who was 18 years and 141 days old when he scored against France in 2004. There are also men who could dethrone him though.

Let’s take Lamine Yamal (Spain) for example, who will still be 16 years old in the beginning of the tournament; Pau Cubars (Spain), who only turned 17 in January, or Warren Zaïre-Emery (France), who came of age in March.

The first two of them can also claim the title of the youngest player in the history of the Euros , a record which was held by Polish Kascper Kozlowski (17 years 246 days) from the previous final tournament.

Coming back to Ronaldo…

Although we tried to find as many top marks as possible, all the roads led to Cristiano Ronaldo. Because…

… if Ronaldo scores at the Euros, he will become the first player to score in six different finals.

… if Ronaldo is selected for the team of the tournament of the Euros, he will become the first player to be part of it in four tournaments. He currently shares this top mark with Pepe, Paolo Maldini and Laurent Blanc.

… if Ronaldo makes the prep-work for two goals at the Euros, he will also become the first in the list of assists. Namely, he is currently short of just one assist, stepping closely behind the legend of the Czech national team, Karel Poborsky, who has eight assists.

… if Ronaldo receives the man of the match award in any of the matches at the Euros, he will become the sole leader in this category as well. Currently, he and the legend of the Spanish national team Andres Iniesta are equal on six.

… if Ronaldo scores the most goals at the Euros, he could become the first player to have two top scorer’s golden boots in his trophy cabinet.

With each hit, Ronaldo also modifies his number of the best scorer in the history of the Euros. In five tournaments so far, he has 14 goals to show, which is five more than the second man in the table, Michel Platin (9), who, admittedly, scored all the goals in one (!) tournament. This record will probably remain unbeaten though…