The sight of Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen inadvertently directing Randal Kolo Muani’s shot past his own goalkeeper sealed a 1-0 victory for France and a quarter-final berth, but it also marked a striking statistic: Vertonghen became the ninth player to score an own goal at Euro 2024. This wasn’t the first instance of France benefiting from an opponent’s mishap in the tournament; remarkably, 66% of their goals conceded have been own goals.
Nine own goals in just 44 matches is an eyebrow-raising figure. To put this into perspective, the leading goalscorers in Germany – Cody Gakpo, Georges Mikautadze, Jamal Musiala, and Ivan Schranz – each have tallied three goals. Only the host nation, Germany, with 10 goals, has outscored the collective own goal phenomenon. Across the previous two European Championships, there were 20 own goals, averaging one every five games. This is an astonishing escalation compared to the mere nine own goals witnessed in the first 15 editions of the tournament from 1960 to 2016 – an average of one every 30 matches.
Own goals were a rarity in the early years of the Euros, with none occurring until the fifth tournament in 1976. The dubious honor of the first own goal went to Czechoslovakia captain Anton Ondrus in the Euro 76 semi-final. Ondrus, nicknamed the “Beckenbauer of the East,” had already found the net at the correct end, giving his team a 1-0 lead against the Netherlands. However, he then dramatically skewed the ball into his own net attempting a clearance at the near post. Despite this blunder, Czechoslovakia triumphed 3-1 after extra time, and Ondrus went on to lift the trophy following their victory over West Germany in the final, decided by Antonín Panenka’s legendary penalty.
A 20-year gap followed before the second own goal at the Euros, which occurred at St James’ Park in Euro 1996. Bulgaria’s Lyuboslav Penev deflected a Youri Djorkaeff free-kick past his own keeper. While fewer matches were played in earlier tournaments, this doesn’t fully account for the exponential rise in own goals in the recent Euros. We’ve witnessed a leap from two own goals in two decades to four in just four days at Euro 2024. What factors are contributing to this unprecedented surge?
The Shifting Sands of Goal Crediting?
Historically, the attribution of own goals was left to the discretion of individual referees, leading to inconsistencies. However, UEFA President Michel Platini intervened in March 2008 to standardize the process. “There has been considerable debate regarding deflected goals and whether they should be credited to the initial shooter or the player who made the final touch,” Platini stated. “We aim to clarify this issue and implement uniform rules across all matches.”
UEFA decreed that a goal would be awarded to the attacking player if their shot was already on target when a deflection occurred. Off-target shots redirected into the net would be recorded as own goals. Platini acknowledged that these guidelines were already informally applied by many referees but would be formally “codified” for all UEFA competitions, including the European Championship. UEFA subsequently assumed direct responsibility, relieving match officials of the task of assigning blame.
Could this change in protocol explain the own goal inflation? If there were a significant shift towards awarding more own goals, the last two World Cups should reflect a similar trend. However, the Qatar World Cup 2022 only saw two own goals in 64 matches. The preceding tournament in Russia had 12 own goals – a notable increase compared to previous World Cups – but even this historical peak pales in comparison to the recent Euros, which account for a staggering 69% of all own goals in European Championship history. And with seven games still to be played in Germany, this figure could climb higher.
Crosses: Not the Culprit
Could an increase in crosses be the reason behind the own goal surge? This argument doesn’t hold up under scrutiny. Euro 2020 saw 32.1 crosses per game, and the group stage of Euro 2024 averaged 33.8 crosses per game. These figures, however, aren’t exceptionally high compared to past tournaments. In fact, the number of crosses per game in the last two major tournaments are the lowest since records began in 1980.
Inverted Wingers: A Potential Link?
The decreasing number of crosses might be related to the growing popularity of inverted wingers, who tend to cut inside to shoot rather than deliver crosses. Could this tactical shift be contributing to the own goal trend? With more players driving infield and shooting, are their shots more frequently being deflected into the net? If this were the primary cause, we should also see record numbers of own goals in leagues like the Premier League. The Premier League did witness a high number of own goals this season – 49, matching the previous high. However, 49 own goals were also recorded in the 2013-14 season, long before inverted wingers became commonplace, and the average in the intervening years was around 35 per season. The increase in the Premier League, therefore, is not as dramatic as the spike at the recent Euros.
Goalkeeping Style Evolution: Unlikely Factor
Another theory suggests that goalkeeping styles have evolved in recent years. Modern goalkeepers are perceived to punch the ball more often, potentially redirecting shots back into dangerous areas for defenders. They are also often valued for their distribution skills over pure shot-stopping abilities, leading to speculation that they might be making more errors. However, none of the own goals at Euro 2024 have stemmed from goalkeepers being overly adventurous or misplacing passes.
The Low Block Tactic: A Strong Contender
Perhaps the most compelling explanation lies in the tactical approaches adopted by teams. The prevalent strategy of defending deep in a low block and then launching counter-attacks encourages teams to pack their penalty areas. Deflections have accounted for eight of the nine own goals at the tournament, with most originating from close-range shots in congested boxes. For example, Belgium had eight players inside their penalty area when they conceded their own goal against France, and Italy had ten players in the box when they conceded against Spain. With such a high density of defenders, deflections become almost inevitable.
Many teams in the tournament, particularly those ranked lower (and their presence has increased in recent editions), have adopted counter-attacking styles. Teams like Georgia, despite having only 33.8% possession, reached the last 16, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach. Teams are increasingly well-drilled in defending in low blocks and transitioning to counter-attacks. However, densely packing the penalty box inherently increases the risk of deflecting a shot into your own net.
Sheer Misfortune: The Unquantifiable Element
Ultimately, perhaps it boils down to sheer bad luck. This theory might resonate with Portugal and Slovakia fans. Portugal entered Euro 2020 as reigning champions but nearly faced group stage elimination after a 4-2 defeat to Germany, a match where both Rúben Dias and Raphaël Guerreiro scored own goals.
Not to be outdone, Slovakia conceded two own goals four days later in a 5-0 thrashing by Spain. The first was particularly calamitous, with Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka attempting to tip the ball over the bar but instead palming it into his own net. Juraj Kucka then added to the misery, deflecting in a second own goal, prompting commentator Ally McCoist to describe the Slovakians, with perhaps slight hyperbole, as “appalling.” Unsurprisingly, Portugal and Slovakia share the unwanted record for most own goals at the Euros, with three each.
Portugal has experienced better fortune in the current tournament, benefiting from perhaps the most spectacular own goal of Euro 2024 in their 3-0 victory against Turkey. Semet Akaydin and goalkeeper Altay Bayindir were clearly not on the same page, resulting in a bizarre mix-up on a backpass. Akaydin casually passed the ball back to his keeper without checking Bayindir’s position, and the ball rolled past the stranded goalkeeper and over the line, despite desperate attempts to recover.
“There was a misunderstanding,” admitted Turkey manager Vincenzo Montella. “Sometimes these things happen, and unfortunately, today it happened to us. Next time, it might be our opponents.” Considering the sheer volume of own goals at this tournament, the next such “misunderstanding” may not be far away.
