10 Records That Have Already Been Broken at Euro 2024

 

The group stages of Euro 2024 may have only just finished, but that didn’t stop fans from being treated to some memorable moments that will not be forgotten for a long time. Whether it be Austria toppling France to come out on top of Group D or Slovakia’s incredible opening game victory over Belgium, these Championships have delivered across the board.

With such a fascinating start to the tournament, it is unsurprising that several records have already been broken across the opening three matchdays. Some may be beaten in the future, but many of these ten landmarks could stand the test of time.

Youngest Player

Lamine Yamal – 16 years, 338 days

A few weeks shy of his 17th birthday, Lamine Yamal announced himself on the European stage as he started on the right-hand side for Spain in their opener against Croatia. Any notion that the teenager might have been overwhelmed by the experience was quickly vanquished, as he shone both on his competition debut and throughout the group stage.

At 16 years and 338 days, the winger surpassed Poland’s Kasper Kozlowski and England’s Jude Bellingham to become the youngest player in the tournament’s history. Bellingham does still hold the record for the youngest player to appear in two consecutive tournaments, however.

Youngest Coach

Julian Nagelsmann – 36 years, 327 days

Youngest Coach

Julian Nagelsmann – 36 years, 327 days

Youngest Coach

Julian Nagelsmann – 36 years, 327 days

Almost exactly 20 years older than Yamal sits the youngest manager to ever lead a team out of the European Championships. Despite being at an age where he could conceivably still be playing, Julian Nagelsmann already had terms on the sidelines for Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich before landing the role of Germany’s national team coach.

The prodigy has led his side to an unbeaten start at the tournament and has helped stamp the four-time world champions’ credentials this summer.

More often than not, the honour of captaining your country is bestowed upon the players who possess the most experience or have the best leadership skills. Ordinarily, these two things go hand in hand. But as the saying goes, if they are good enough, they are old enough.

A few months shy of turning 24 years old, Dominik Szoboszlai was thrust into the deep end of captaining Hungary throughout this summer. The Liverpool midfielder is by far the most talented player in the squad, but in times of crisis, he showed that he is the type of player who is always looking out for his teammates, highlighted by his response to Barnabas Varga’s sickening injury.

Youngest Debut Scorer

Arda Guler – 19 years, 114 days

Arda Guler came off the back of a tough first season at Real Madrid. The wonderkid had to battle through niggling injuries and then wait patiently to be handed his opportunity by Carlo Ancelotti. That couldn’t have been any more different than the expectations placed upon him whilst wearing the red of Turkey this summer though.

Thrust in as one of their key players, Guler made his mark instantly with a strike worthy of the goal of the tournament. At just 19 years and 119 days, the Turk became the youngest ever player to score on his European Championship debut, besting a certain Cristiano Ronaldo twenty years ago.

Oldest Player

Pepe – 41 years, 117 days

The sheer abundance of talent that Roberto Martinez has at his disposal for Portugal is nothing short of mesmerising. It is no wonder that they had one of the best squads going into Euro 2024. Yet, for all that new blood that has become available in recent years, it’s a member of the old guard who is still going strong.

Pepe was a key part of the side that won Euro 2016 when he was in his early thirties. Very few would’ve predicted he would still be at the heart of the defence almost a decade later. That is the case though, which has meant that the former Real Madrid star now has the title of the oldest-ever player to play at a European championship.

Oldest Goalscorer

Luka Modric – 38 years, 289 days

It was a valiant effort from Luka Modric in what could very well be his last-ever international tournament. The Croatian hasn’t given any hints as to what his future holds, despite pleas from one Italian journalist to never retire.

As Modric rightly pointed out, age catches up to us all. So, if this is to be his final act for his country, then it is one that sees him enter the record books. Just moments after missing a penalty, the midfielder was on hand to give his side the lead in their final group game against Italy. An equaliser deep into stoppage time meant that Croatia crashed out of the tournament, but Modric still leaves having become the oldest-ever goalscorer in Euros history.

Fastest Goal

Nedim Bajrami – 23 Seconds

If someone created a script about the worst possible start to Italy’s European Championship defence, it may very well have looked like this. Less than 25 seconds into their opening game against Albania, Luciano Spalletti’s men found themselves behind in one of the biggest shocks of the tournament to that point.

The man who provided that goal was Nedim Bajrami. The Sassuolo midfielder latched onto a poor throw-in by Federico Dimarco and fired past Gianluigi Donnarumma to give the Red and Blacks an unlikely lead and break the previous record for the fastest goal by almost 45 seconds.

Latest Goal

Kevin Csoboth – 99 minutes and 32 seconds

On the other end of the spectrum, Kevin Csoboth’s dramatic late winner for Hungary against Scotland was the latest goal that has ever been scored at the European Championships. In a game where both teams had to win in order to stand any chance of qualifying for the next round, the previously mentioned shocking injury to Hungarian frontman Varga meant that there was an additional 10 minutes of added time at the end of proceedings.

As both teams threw the kitchen sink at it, the game opened up, and it was Marco Rossi’s men who struck. A counter-attack from a Scotland corner saw Hungary charge up the pitch and led to Csoboth turning the ball home with 99 minutes and 32 seconds left on the clock.

Most Finals Campaigns

Cristiano Ronaldo – Six

There are a plethora of records that belong to Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portugal legend has already been able to add yet another to his ever-growing list of accomplishments. Still leading his country out at the age of 39, CR7 has now played in a record six European Championships, more than any other player.

Since 2004, Ronaldo has not missed a single squad. In those tournaments, Portugal have made it to the final twice and the semi-finals, quarter-finals and round of 16 once. Should he find the net during the knockout stages, the former Manchester United man will also extend his record for most tournaments with a goal, as Euro 2024 is the only one he is yet to bag in.

Biggest Opening Win

Germany 5-1 Scotland

It was the perfect start for the host nation Germany as they comfortably dispatched a woeful Scotland to kick off the tournament. The 5-1 demolition was not only the Scots’ heaviest-ever defeat in tournament history, but it was also the biggest margin of victory in any European Championship opener.

The record was only broken at the last tournament by defending champions Italy, who kicked off their campaign with a 3-0 win over Turkey. Goals from Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug and Emre Can handed Julian Nagelsmann not only the three points but an impressive statistic also.