Euro 2024 has delivered thrilling football action, marked by a flurry of goals across the group stages. While the Golden Boot race remains fiercely contested with no clear frontrunner yet, an unexpected statistic has emerged: the staggering number of own goals.
Jan Vertonghen of Belgium shows his disappointment after scoring an own goal against France during their Euro 2024 match.
Teams have showcased impressive attacking prowess, with Spain boasting four different goalscorers and Germany featuring six, including multiple players with two goals each. However, it’s the own goal tally that’s truly capturing attention, transforming Euro 2024 into potentially the “Own Goal Euro 2024”.
Unprecedented Number of Own Goals at Euro 2024
Historically, own goals have been a rarity in the European Championship. Across the previous 16 editions, a mere 20 own goals were recorded in total. The previous tournament in 2021, held across multiple European cities, witnessed a significant spike with 11 own goals. However, Euro 2024 is on track to shatter this record.
Already, ten own goals have been conceded in this year’s tournament, and we are only just entering the knockout stages. This rapid accumulation of own goals highlights an unusual trend in Euro 2024, leaving fans and analysts alike wondering about the reasons behind this statistical anomaly.
Here is a comprehensive list of the own goals scored so far in Euro 2024:
| Match | Player | Nation | Own Goal Against | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groups round 1 | Antonio Rudiger | Germany | Scotland | GER 5-1 SCO |
| Groups round 1 | Maximiilian Wober | Austria | France | AUT 0-1 FRA |
| Groups round 1 | Robin Hranac | Czechia | Portugal | POR 2-1 CZE |
| Groups round 2 | Klaus Gjasula | Albania | Croatia | CRO 2-2 ALB |
| Groups round 2 | Riccardo Calafiori | Italy | Spain | ESP 1-0 ITA |
| Groups round 2 | Samet Akaydin | Turkey | Portugal | TUR 0-3 POR |
| Groups round 3 | Donyell Malen | Netherlands | Austria | NED 2-3 AUT |
| Round of 16 | Robin Le Normand | Spain | Georgia | ESP 4-1 GEO |
| Round of 16 | Jan Vertonghen | Belgium | France | FRA 1-0 BEL |
| Quarter-final | Mert Muldur | Turkey | Netherlands | NED 2-1 TUR |
Historical Context of Own Goals in European Championship
Interestingly, there was a long period with very few own goals in the Euros. After the first own goal in 1976, two decades passed before the second occurred in 1996. This underlines how unusual the current trend is.
England has only been on both ends of this unfortunate statistic sparingly. Glen Johnson holds the unwanted record of being the sole England player to score an own goal at the Euros, doing so against Sweden in 2012. Conversely, the only own goal benefiting England came from Simon Kjaer of Denmark during the dramatic Euro 2020 semi-final.
With the Euro 2024 knockout stage commencing on June 29th and the final set for Berlin on July 14th, there’s still ample opportunity for this own goal tally to climb even higher. Will Euro 2024 become definitively known as the “own goal euro 2024”? Only time will tell as the tournament progresses.
