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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Niall McVeigh

Numbers game: 10 statistics that tell the story of Euro 2024’s group stage

Romelu Lukaku of Belgium shoots in the game against Ukraine at Euro 2024
Romelu Lukaku has been a symbol of Belgium fans’ frustration, but he was actually the group stage’s most dangerous striker. Photograph: Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images

No goals from direct free-kicks

None of the 81 goals scored in the group stage were scored directly from a direct free-kick. At Euro 2020, there was only one free-kick goal, scored by Mikkel Damsgaard against England in the semi-finals. Euro 2016 had four, with Gareth Bale scoring two – more (so far) than in the next two tournaments combined. This is in line with domestic trends: in Europe’s top five leagues, the amount of free-kicks in the final third that are shot at goal has dropped from 24.6% in 2008-09 to 18.8% in 2022-23.

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