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Italy vs England | Euro 2021

Fifteen startling statistics from the other 15 European Championship finals

Italy and England ready to create more history

Italy England Euro 2020
Fifteen startling statistics from the other 15 European Championship finals.
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The 16th European Championship final will take place on Sunday evening, as Italy take on England at Wembley Stadium.

As the match draws closer and the excitement builds, we look at 15 startling statistics from the previous 15 finals.

Eder: Portugal's Iniesta scores the 109th-minute winner

Just as Andres Iniesta won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with an extra-time winner in the 103rd minute against the Netherlands, Eder's unstoppable strike in the 109th minute of the Euro 2016 final handed Portugal a 1-0 victory over France.

Eder, perseguido por sus compañeros, tras marcar el gol de la victoria ante Francia en la Euro 2016.
Eder, perseguido por sus compañeros, tras marcar el gol de la victoria ante Francia en la Euro 2016.

2-1: The most common scoreline

The finals have not typically been the most high-scoring affairs, and on five occasions the scoreline has ended 2-1. This happened in 1960, 1964, 1980, 1996 and 2000.

Spain: The only team to win two consecutive finals

Spain became the only team to win two consecutive finals, which they achieved against Germany and Italy in 2008 and 2012 respectively.

Penalties? It's only happened once

Back in 1976, Czechoslovakia defeated West Germany in the only penalty shootout in the history of the European Championship final, with Antonin Panenka scoring the decisive spot-kick.

Panenka, en el momento del golpeo del penalti que le metió al mítico portero alemán Sepp Maier
Panenka, en el momento del golpeo del penalti que le metió al mítico portero alemán Sepp Maier

Germany: The most final appearances

Whilst Germany and Spain have both won the tournament on three occasions, Germany have made the most appearances in the final, as they also lost in 1976, 1992 and 2008.

When the Golden Goal decided the match

The finals of 1996 and 2000 were each decided by a Golden Goal in extra time, with Oliver Bierhoff handing Germany victory over the Czech Republic in 1996 and David Trezeguet's strike giving France victory over Italy four years later.

Oliver Bierhoff, el alemán que marcó el primer gol de oro en una Eurocopa.
Oliver Bierhoff, el alemán que marcó el primer gol de oro en una Eurocopa.

Vilfort: The hero of the 1992 final

The hero of Denmark's fairytale triumph in 1992 was Kim Vilfort. Having had to leave his team's camp on two occasions after his daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia, his goal in the final against Germany secured a 2-0 victory.

The teams that made the best debut in the tournament

Three teams have won the competition in their debut appearance: the USSR in 1960, Italy in 1968 and West Germany in 1972.

Berti Vogts: Winner as a coach and player

One man has won the competition both as a coach and as a player: Berti Vogts. He followed up his success as a player in West Germany's triumph in 1972 by leading his side to victory over the Czech Republic in 1996.

Berti Vogts y Oliver Bierhoff.
Berti Vogts y Oliver Bierhoff.

Spain vs Italy: The biggest victory

Following their success at the European Championship in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, Spain's golden generation had a fitting grand finale, defeating Italy 4-0 in Kyiv to win Euro 2012.

Jordi Alba celebra el gol que marcó en la final de 2012 a Italia.
Jordi Alba celebra el gol que marcó en la final de 2012 a Italia.PABLO GARCÍA

Most consecutive final appearances

Germany hold this record, as they reached the final in 1972, 1976 and 1980, winning the first and last of these finals.

Schuster, en su etapa de jugador con la elástica alemana.
Schuster, en su etapa de jugador con la elástica alemana.

European Championship and Champions League winners

A total of nine players have managed to win the Champions League followed by the European Championship in the same year: Luis Suarez (Inter and Spain, 1964); Ronald Koeman (PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands, 1988); Barry van Aerle (PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands, 1988); Hans van Breucklen (PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands 1988); Gerald Vanenburg (PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands, 1988); Juan Mata (Chelsea and Spain, 2012); Fernando Torres (Chelsea and Spain, 2012); Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal, 2016); and Pepe (Real Madrid and Portugal, 2016).

Ballack and Griezmann: A tragic 2008 and 2016

However, two players have lost the Champions League followed by the European Championship in the same year. Michael Ballack did so with Chelsea and Germany in 2008, and this was repeated by Antoine Griezmann in 2016 with Atletico Madrid and France.

The players who made up for defeat in the Champions League final

Four players have followed defeat in the Champions League final with victory at the European Championship in the same year: Ignacio Zoco and Amancio Amaro (Real Madrid and Spain, 1964); and Manny Kaltz and Horst Hrubesch (Hamburg and West Germany, 1980).

Fernando Torres' Golden Boot

Fernando Torres won the Golden Boot at Euro 2012 even though he only scored three goals, which was the same amount as five other players: Alan Dzagoev, Mario Mandzukic, Mario Gomez, Mario Balotelli and Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, he was awarded the trophy after contributing an assist and having played the least number of minutes (189 minutes) of all the players who had scored three goals.

Fernando Torres celebra el tercer gol de España a Italia.
Fernando Torres celebra el tercer gol de España a Italia.PABLO GARCÍA
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