Euro 2020 data dive: Ronaldo equals record in heavy Portugal defeat, France held by spirited Hungary

By Sports Desk June 19, 2021

A host of European football's heavyweights were in action on another day of high drama at Euro 2020 on Saturday.

The stand-out result was Germany's thumping 4-2 win over holders Portugal at the Allianz Arena in Munich, which featured yet another landmark strike from Cristiano Ronaldo. 

In the same group, tournament favourites France were held to a surprise draw by Hungary, while, in Group E, Spain's stuttering start continued with a 1-1 draw against Poland.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform takes a look at some of the best facts from across the day's action.

Portugal 2-4 Germany: Holders give Die Mannschaft a helping hand

Portugal made some unwanted history as they slipped to a resounding defeat against Germany at the Allianz Arena.

It had started so well for Fernando Santos' men, Ronaldo putting the holders ahead early on with a strike that took him level with Miroslav Klose as the European player to have scored the most combined goals (19) across the World Cup and European Championship. 

However, Portugal became the first European nation ever to concede two own goals – through Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro – in a single match at a major tournament to give Germany a half-time lead. 

Kai Havertz added a third to become Germany's youngest goalscorer in a European Championship game, aged 22 years and eight days, before Robin Gosens got in on the act. 

That meant Portugal, who pulled one back through Diogo Jota, became the first reigning champions in European Championship history to concede four goals in a single match in the competition.

Hungary 1-1 France: Fiola finds a way through stubborn defence

Few gave Hungary a chance of getting anything from their clash with the world champions, but Marco Rossi's side claimed a memorable point.

Attila Fiola opened the scoring shortly before half-time, ending a run of 527 minutes of play for France without shipping a goal.

Fiola has now scored two goals in his last four appearances for Hungary after failing to find the back of the net in his first 33 games for his country. 

Aged 31 years and 122 days, right-back Fiola is the oldest player to score against France in a European Championship match since Rui Jordao scored a brace against them for Portugal in 1984 (31y 319d).

However, France stretched their unbeaten run at major tournaments to nine matches when Antoine Griezmann levelled midway through the second half. 

The Barcelona forward has now scored 11 goals at major international tournaments, with only Michel Platini (14), Just Fontaine (13) and Thierry Henry (12) having scored more. 

France could have sealed victory had Kylian Mbappe shown more accuracy in front of goal. The Paris Saint-Germain forward attempted six shots – the most he has ever had in a single match for his country. 

Spain 1-1 Poland: La Roja's sluggish start continues

This draw meant Spain have failed to win either of their first two games in a European Championship tournament for the first time since 1996. 

It had started so well for them, however, with Alvaro Morata firing home from close range in the 25th minute. The on-loan Juventus striker has scored four of Spain's last five goals at European Championship finals – only Fernando Torres (five) has ever scored more goals in the competition for the nation.

Poland pulled level shortly after half-time, though, Robert Lewandowski becoming only the third player to score in three major tournaments for Poland, after Grzegorz Lato and Andrzej Szarmach.

Spain did have the opportunity to claim all three points, but Gerard Moreno struck the post from the penalty spot, meaning they have failed to score five of their last eight penalties (excluding shootouts) at the tournament.

There was also a landmark moment for Poland's Kacper Kozlowski (17 years and 246 days), who became the youngest ever player to make an appearance at the European Championship, overtaking Jude Bellingham's record (17y 349d) set for England six days ago.

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  • KC school Tivoli High in 5-0 win as Jamaica College, Mona play out 1-1 stalemate KC school Tivoli High in 5-0 win as Jamaica College, Mona play out 1-1 stalemate

    Former champions Kingston College produced a five-star performance to open the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Digicel Manning Cup quarterfinal round in commanding fashion as they blanked Tivoli High 5-0, while reigning champions Mona High and Jamaica College played out a 1-1 stalemate in the Group A double-header at Stadium East on Friday.

    A brace from Damaine Smith (3rd and 19th) and one each from Matrim Martin (32nd), Kamaul Patterson (45+3) and Deshawn Byfield (51st) got the job done for Kingston College in the lopsided feature contest.

    Meanwhile in the curtain-raiser, Sean Leighton’s 35th-minute strike for Mona High was cancelled out by Jamaica College’s captain Dyllan John, who converted a 65th-minute penalty to secure his team a share of the spoils.

    With the result, Kingston College took command of the group on three points, while Jamaica College and Mona trail with a point each. Tivoli will have to play catch up from the foot of the four-team standing.

    Kingston College were always favoured to take three points off Tivoli High, and they did so with consummate ease in what was a showcase of their offensive prowess and defensive strength as they overwhelmed the opponents from start to finish.

    The famed purples wasted little time to break the deadlock as Smith got on the end of a weighted pass and easily fired past Daniel Bailey in goal for Tivoli High.

    Their precise passing and tactical awareness kept Tivoli on the back foot, and it was another of those passes from the back that sent Smith on his way to complete his brace with another simple finish.

    That brace set the tone for what would be a long and arduous game for Tivoli High, who soon found themselves 3-0 down when Shareef Ricketts’ weighted corner kick picked out Martin at the far post and the Guyanese made no mistakes from goalmouth.

    Struggling to find any answer to the waves of attacks that Kingston College unleashed, the West Kingston team were left visibly demoralized as another weighted freekick from Ricketts eluded defenders and Patterson capitalised at the far post to make it 4-0 at the break.

    The second half saw no reprieve for Tivoli High, as Kingston College continued to drive forward with confidence and added to their tally six minutes in when Byfield fired home after Smith’s effort burst through the hands of the hapless Bailey.

    Tivoli High tried to play their game when Kingston College eased up a bit, but their offensive efforts were always easily thwarted by the North Street-based team’s backline long before they posed any real threat.

    Kingston College’s Head coach, Vassell Reynolds, praised his players for their discipline and focus.

    “We really wanted to get three points today because that put us in good stead to push on for the remainder of this round, and I thought the boys responded well and did pretty well. So I am pretty satisfied with our conversion rate and the overall performance,” Vassell said in a post-game interview.

    Tivoli’s assistant coach, Lance DaCosta, believes a lapse in concentration resulted in the loss but backed his team to bounce back against Mona and Jamaica College.

    “I think we struggled defensively; we made too many errors, and they cost us. At this stage we should be more mature and more focused, but we just have to motivate them and try to win our next two games to advance,” he said.

    Earlier in what was one of the season’s most anticipated clashes, Mona forced the initiative and camped out in Jamaica College’s quarters in the early exchanges. They took a few cracks at target, which tested Taywane Lynch, but the Jamaica College custodian proved equal to the task on each occasion.

    Jamaica College eventually found their footing in attack and thought they had the go-ahead goal in the 28th when Giovanni Taylor fired home from close range, but it was controversially called back for an offside.

    Mona eventually grabbed the ascendancy when Leighton finished his fifth goal of the season with aplomb after Robino Gordon’s effort was saved to make it 1-0 at the break.

    However, Jamaica College pulled level five minutes past the hour mark when John fired home from the 12-yard spot after being awarded a controversial penalty.

    Friday’s results

    Mona 1, Jamaica College 1

    Kingston College 5, Tivoli High 0

    St Catherine 3, Campion College 0

    Hydel vs Excelsior (Postponed)

  • Smith calls for intense and aggressive Charlotte approach in playoff decider Smith calls for intense and aggressive Charlotte approach in playoff decider

    Dean Smith is hoping Charlotte FC can replicate their aggressive approach from game 2 when they travel to Orlando City in their MLS playoff decider.

    Charlotte forced a third match in their best-of-three series against Orlando, winning 3-1 on penalties after a 0-0 draw on Thursday.

    However, they lost the first game 2-0 when they travelled to Inter & Co Stadium and have not had much luck on the road against the Lions, failing to win there since March 2023.

    Smith was proud of how his side took the game to Orlando on home soil and is urging his players for more of the same when they return to Florida.

    "There's still a job to be done. We think we can go to Orlando and put in a performance that will put us through to the Conference semi-finals," Smith said.

    "We have to take our intensity in. That's what gave us that performance, our aggressiveness.

    "We forced them into mistakes, and we restricted them to almost no chances, so we were doing something right. We need to make sure we're on the front foot again and take it to them."

    Meanwhile, Orlando are hoping their home advantage will provide a much-needed boost as they look to put that shoot-out defeat behind them.

    They only managed one shot on target in that match and then netted just one of the four penalties that they took, but Oscar Pareja is confident they are in a strong position to go through.

    "We're good. We're aiming for the same intensity, the same intentions, the same plans and the same positive essence that we have.

    "When things get tight you've got to use the advantage, and we have that by being at home. We're going to be faithful to the tactics that have got us to this point.

    "We have to be confident and be ourselves. Have full belief in what to do. We have a team that plays very well and one that has earned this ride, so we plan to use our advantages."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Orlando City – Duncan McGuire

    Orlando attempted just three shots in their game 2 draw and penalty shoot-out defeat to Charlotte, their fewest in any MLS match this season, while hitting just one on target.

    Duncan McGuire was responsible for one of those, generating 0.25 expected goals with that effort. The substitute also had the most touches in the box (three) of any Orlando player.

    Charlotte FC – Kristijan Kahlina

    Charlotte have won both of their penalty shootouts, beating Orlando City 4-1 on Friday after recording a 3-1 shootout win in the 2023 Leagues Cup group stage.

    Charlotte have converted all seven of their penalties in shootouts while Kristijan Kahlina allowed goals on just two of the seven spot-kicks he faced.

    MATCH PREDICTION: ORLANDO CITY WIN

    Orlando have won eight of their last 10 home matches against MLS opposition in all competitions (D1 L1), including a 2-0 victory over Charlotte in Game 1 on October 27. The Lions scored multiple goals in all eight wins over that time.

    While Charlotte stayed alive with a penalty shoot-out win after a scoreless draw against Orlando in Game 2 on Saturday, the Lions have now kept clean sheets in three straight matches against them after not doing so in any of the first six meetings in all competitions.

    Charlotte's only defeat in their last seven matches in all competitions was their Game 1 loss at Orlando on October 27. In fact, Charlotte’s last loss prior to this run of seven games (W4 D2 L1) also came in Orlando (on September 18), with the omens not looking good going into their final match.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Orlando City – 53.7%

    Draw – 23.7%

    Charlotte FC – 22.5%

  • Napoli not going to San Siro to 'wave the white flag', says Conte Napoli not going to San Siro to 'wave the white flag', says Conte

    Antonio Conte has no intention of holding anything back when he returns to San Siro, as the top two face off in Serie A on Sunday.

    The Italian revived Inter and helped them break Juventus's nine-year stranglehold on the Scudetto, stopping their run in the 2020-21 season to win the title for the first time since their treble-winning campaign in 2009-10.

    Now at Napoli, a club that is looking to return to the heights of their 2022-23 title win, Conte's side sit top of Serie A with 25 points after 11 games - a point above Inter ahead of their upcoming clash.

    "It's definitely nice to return to where I worked and won. Yes, two happy years," Conte told reporters.

    "It was a wonderful experience that I carry within me, like all the past ones that I lived to the fullest."

    Napoli's winning run in Serie A came to a grinding halt against Atalanta last weekend when Conte's side were beaten 3-0, and they have a poor recent record against Inter, having won just one of their last 10 Serie A matches against them.

    Napoli are looking to avoid suffering two consecutive top-flight losses for the first time since last December, and Conte says he is in no mood to drop three points again.

    "The three points is always important, it is inevitable that we face a team that today, for everything they have shown, is the strongest team," Conte added.

    "We are not going to San Siro to wave the white flag before starting, but convinced to play our cards. Then we will see what happens. We are preparing in a major way, as we always do.

    "It will be an important test, we will measure ourselves against the best, and it will be important to understand our progress. Do not forget that we arrive at the top of the table... and the objective is to remain at the top."

    Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku has scored only one goal in his last four games, but when asked about his form, Conte said he was tired of questions about the Belgian striker.

    "At every blessed conference, there is always the question about Lukaku. It becomes a bit - not annoying - but we are talking about the team. Lukaku's growth depends on the growth of the team," Conte said.

    "But I am confident because I see them every day, they want to work and improve. I see a lot of commitment and I would not reduce it to a single player. It is not fair to the others."

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