Portrait of the real "Top scorer" of EURO 2024

Antoine Griezmann (France) celebrates after Jan Vertonghen's (Belgium) own goal

Cody Gakpo, Jamal Musiala, Georges Mikautadze and Ivan Schranz are the top scorers at EURO 2024 with three goals each. Mikautadze and Schranz have since exited the tournament along with Georgia and Slovakia.

So the first two names will compete with 7 others who have scored 2 goals (except Razvan Marin because Romania has stopped) to win the Golden Boot. The race is very open because the gap is not big and there are still a maximum of 3 more matches.

However, up to this point, it can be affirmed that it is difficult for anyone to surpass the number of goals scored by the player named "own goal". Surprisingly, out of 100 goals after 44 matches, 9 are own goals, 3 times more than the number of goals scored by a real player. Although the tournament still has 9 days left, the current number is equal to the total number of goals scored into the net in the first 15 tournaments (from 1960 to 2016).

Note that it was not until the 5th edition (1976) that the first culprit appeared, the captain of Czechoslovakia (formerly) Anton Ondrus in the semi-final against the Netherlands. And in those 15 editions spanning 56 years, on average there was only one own goal every 30 matches. In EURO 2024 alone, fans witnessed an own goal every 4.8 matches.

In fact, we don't have to wait until this tournament, since EURO 2020 there has been a sudden increase in own goals. In the European tournament that took place 3 years ago, a record of 11 own goals was set. With 7 matches left, EURO 2024 can completely break this milestone.

So why have own goals become so common at the EURO in the last two tournaments (20 goals in total, accounting for 68.9% of the tournament's history)? The first reason comes from the law adjustment, initiated by former UEFA President Michel Platini in 2008.

Any contact with a player that causes the ball to change direction, from not going towards the goal to going into the net, will be counted as an own goal. The stricter rules, and less bias towards strikers, have created more “culprits”.

Another reason is that the counter-attacking style is very popular, and teams also drop deep when losing the ball. Of the 9 own goals, 8 were counter-attacks, and most of them were shots taken in crowded defenses.

In the Belgium-France match, eight Belgian players were in the penalty area when Jan Vertonghen put the ball into his own net. Similarly, Riccardo Calafiori was one of 10 Italian players in the box, causing the goal against Spain. This time, players were very active in shooting from distance, despite the many obstacles in front of them. In the worst case, anyone could be the cause of the ball flying into the net.

One detail that cannot be overlooked is the heat in the stands. In contrast to some boring performances on the field, the fans at EURO 2024 are still extremely enthusiastic and create unbelievable noise. This puts a lot of pressure on the players, causing those who are already tired after a long season to easily lose focus. That's why Turkey defender Semet Akaydin passed the ball back without looking, sending it straight into his own net in the loss to Portugal.

“Mistakes are very common in football, it’s just unfortunate that they happened to us. But next time it could happen to our opponents,” Turkey coach Vincenzo Montella explained. These words also emphasize the ever-present luck in football. And the “own-goal scorer” will still speak at the end of EURO 2024 when the intensity and tension are pushed to the limit.