Berlin (dpa) – It starts – the European Football Championship begins this Friday. The game will be played in eleven cities, with the final on July 11 at Wembley, London’s football temple.
The German national team will play their first group game against France on June 15, and a total of 24 nations have qualified.
From the newcomer North Macedonia to the record winners Germany and Spain with three titles each – the EM participants could hardly be more different.
THE GOAL SCORER
At the last Euro 2016 in France, Cristiano Ronaldo had to survive anxious minutes on the sidelines. The later five-time world footballer was substituted in the final against the hosts injured, could no longer intervene decisively – and still celebrated the title after the final whistle. With a total of nine European Championship goals, the Portuguese, together with the former French international Michel Platini, is the most dangerous professional in tournament history, but he has also played the most games (21).
THE OLDEST
The Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is the oldest professional in the tournament. The veteran from Ajax Amsterdam is 38 years old and made his debut in the Oranje selection back in 2004. As the analysis by the Institute for Match Analysis in Potsdam shows, the Netherlands, despite their oldies, are in goal with an average age of 27.3 years Far from the oldest team – this list is led by Sweden (29.2), followed by Belgium (29.1) and Slovakia (28.2). The DFB selection ranks 14th with an average of 27.6 years.
THE YOUNGEST
Kacper Kozlowski won’t be 18 years old until next October. The Polish midfielder is under contract with Pogon Stettin in his home country and is considered a great talent. Meanwhile, the youngest team on average is Turkey (24.9 years), the English national team at this European Championship is on average a little older (25.3). The Turks have also nominated most of the U23 players for the tournament (9).
THE NEWBIRDS
North Macedonia and Finland are participating in an EM for the first time. The Finns even managed to qualify directly, the North Macedonians had to go through the playoffs. Coming into the tournament as a newcomer doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. The German national team won the title in 1972 as a debutant – a feat that newcomers had also achieved in the previous three finals. 1968 Italy, 1964 Spain – and 1960 the Soviet Union. However, 61 years ago all participants were debutants. Five years ago, Wales stormed into the European Championship semi-finals as a newcomer.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210606-99-887031 / 2
