Which players have run fastest and covered the most distance at UEFA EURO 2020? Which have put in the most successful crosses, initiated the most attacks and showed the most willingness to run at opponents?
Updated after every round of matches at the final tournament, the Volkswagen Mobility statistics give an interesting slant on who have been the big performers at the finals.
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Distance covered (km)
76.14: Pedri (Spain)
72.31: Jorginho (Italy)
67.35: Kalvin Phillips (England)
66.64: Joakim Mæhle (Denmark)
65.91: Aymeric Laporte (Spain)
Just 18, Pedri has been one of the standout performers at EURO 2020, but the stats confirm that he puts the effort in too. No one has run further than the Barcelona midfielder at the finals, though it is worth noting that having gone through three periods of extra time with Spain, Pedri (629), Aymeric Laporte (630) and Unai Simón (630) played more minutes than any other player at EURO 2020. Italy’s Jorginho (585 minutes) and England’s Kalvin Phillips (545) have played considerably fewer minutes.
Distance covered in possession (km)
38.23: Pedri (Spain)
31.21: Koke (Spain)
30.91: Aymeric Laporte (Spain)
30.29: Jordi Alba (Spain)
27.07: Jorginho (Italy)
The statistics reflect that Spain were the greatest exponents of possession-based football at EURO 2020, with Jorginho a relatively distant fifth behind four La Roja players in terms of distance covered in possession. England’s Phillips (26.61) is sixth in the rankings, having moved with the ball for 6.27km during the semi-final against Denmark alone.
Top speed (km/h)
33.8: Loïc Négo (Hungary)
33.8: Leonardo Spinazzola (Italy)
33.7: Kingsley Coman (France)
33.6: Cody Gakpo (Netherlands)
33.5: Daniel James (Wales)
33.5: Marcus Rashford (England)
For pure, explosive pace, Hungary’s Loïc Négo and Italy’s injured left-back Leonardo Spinazzola remain the men to chase, though in terms of pace it would be a photo finish between most of the top six in a 100m sprint. England’s Kyle Walker (32.0km/h) and Ciro Immobile of Italy (31.7km/h) were among the top five speed merchants in the semi-finals.
Most sprints
277: Joakim Mæhle (Denmark)
248: Raheem Sterling (England)
246: Vladimír Coufal (Czech Republic)
244: Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Denmark)
236: Jordi Alba (Spain)
Atalanta full-back Joakim Mæhle has returned from this EURO with his personal reputation hugely enhanced. His frequent runs were a menace to opponents all tournament. Giovanni Di Lorenzo has made 235 sprints for Italy and is just outside the top five. Of Raheem Sterling’s 248 sprints, 63 came in the semi-final: the highest total of any player in the last-four games.
Key passes
31: Pedri (Spain)
19: Koke (Spain)
19: Jordi Alba (Spain)
18: Emil Forsberg (Sweden)
18: Lorenzo Insigne (Italy)
Pedri’s incisive passing is one of the many extraordinary features of his game, and even seasoned Spanish team-mates were unable to match him in this regard at EURO 2020. Italy’s Lorenzo Insigne is the highest-ranked finalist in terms of key passes, though colleagues Nicolò Barella (16) and Marco Verratti (15), and indeed England’s Mason Mount (14) and Luke Shaw (12), are not far behind. Seven of the top eight key-pass men in the semis were England players. Phil Foden’s and Jack Grealish’s stats show how much impact they had despite playing for about 25 minutes each in the Denmark game.
Official EURO 2002 player statistics
Successful dribbles
18: Raheem Sterling (England)
13: Martin Braithwaite (Denmark)
11: AndriyYarmolenko (Ukraine)
10: Kylian Mbappé (France)
10: Federico Chiesa (Italy)
Speaking to the BBC, former England defender Rio Ferdinand purred at Sterling’s desire to “create chaos” every time he has had the ball at EURO 2020, and the stats bear out the Manchester City flier’s willingness to run at players. Nine of his dribbles came in the semi against Denmark (over twice as many as any other player in the last four).
Crosses completed
12: Andy Robertson (Scotland)
11: David Alaba (Austria)
11: Ricardo Rodríguez (Switzerland)
11: Daniel James (Wales)
10: Koke (Spain)
Scotland’s EURO 2020 campaign ended early, but not for want of effort by Andy Robertson who found team-mates with 12 of his crosses. Shaw and Mount (eight each) are the highest-ranked England players by this metric (Mount served a colleague with three deliveries in the semi-final alone, a round in which only nine crosses reached their target, eight of them by England men). Spinazzola and Insigne are Italy’s top crossers, with six successful ones each, though their game so far has been more about short passes or direct assaults on goal.
Solo runs into attacking third
27: Pedri (Spain)
18: Marcos Llorente (Spain)
16: Raheem Sterling (England)
16: Joakim Mæhle (Denmark)
15: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Pedri is way ahead of the pack again, although Sterling is among the top rank of players when it comes to initiating attacking play (five of his surges coming in the semi-final). Spinazzola (13) and Verratti (12) have been Italy’s chief attacking outlets by this measure.
Solo runs into penalty area
14: Lorenzo Insigne (Italy)
13: Raheem Sterling (England)
13: Kylian Mbappé (France)
12: Joakim Mæhle (Denmark)
11: Leonardo Spinazzola (Italy)
No player has taken the ball into the opposition penalty area as much as Insigne during EURO 2020 but Sterling is running him close, with six of those bursts arriving against a tiring Denmark in the semi (twice as many as his nearest rivals mustered at that stage – Shaw, Federico Chiesa and Álvaro Morata).
