Bundesliga Stars Make Statement at EURO 2020

EURO 2020 for the first time in its tournament history was held across the continent, with 11 host cities in all.

In total, there was 92 players from Germany’s top flight who played across the competition"s 51 games. Looking back, it’s clear the Bundesliga played a critical role in making the tournament so memorable.

The Bundesliga lead the stats at EURO 2020

The Bundesliga is well-known as one of Europe’s highest scoring leagues, but the age old question is always the same- how competitive is the Bundesliga against the other big boy leagues? Well the League stars answered this question in emphatic fashion.

Bundesliga players accounted for 29 goals, more than any other league. This shows how the strong cohort from the German top flight brought the Bundesliga’s fast attacking and modern style of play to the European stage.

Bundesliga players excelled in all aspects of attacking play, not just goal scoring! Eintracht Frankfurt’s Steven Zuber provided the most assists, contributing to four goals for his native Switzerland.

Zuber was closely followed by RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo who bagged three assists and assisted Spain in reaching the semi-final.

Bayer Leverkusen and Czech Republic‘s Patrik Schick ranks the highest in shooting accuracy, with nine of his 16 attempts going on target.

Two Bundesliga players ranked second and third for passing accuracy. Hertha Berlin’s Dedryck Boyata distribution had an accuracy of 97.5% for Belgium, closely followed by Borussia Dortmund’s legendary centre back Mats Hummels at 97.3%.

In defence, another Dortmund inclusion in Manuel Akanji was arguably the best defensive player of the tournament if we look at the statistics. He recovered an astounding total of 46 balls in his five games for Switzerland.

Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Stefan Lainer also displayed true commitment putting his body on the line for his team. He won nine tackles in only four games, which is the highest number of any player at Euro 2020.

In goal, it was Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Yann Sommer who captured global attention, proving himself as one of the very best EURO 2020 had to offer. Sommer saved 21 shots- more than any other shot stopper. It was his heroic performance against France that ensured his team beat the World Champions in a penalty shootout.

Golden Boot

Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick was joint Golden Boot winner with (5) goals. Given the Bundesliga’s attacking style of football, it is no surprise that the Czech of Bayer Leverkusen matched the Golden Boot winner Cristiano Ronaldo in number of goals.

Although the Portuguese striker beat his Central European counterpart by one assist in the race for the individual trophy– Schick’s statistical breakdown shows just how impressive his tournament was.

The 50 yard, inch perfect, second goal by Schick was from the half-way line in their opening match against Scotland is considered his and the tournaments most memorable goal.

A penalty versus Croatia, followed by a clinical goal against the Netherlands displaying his positional awareness, and finally the Czech Republic’s final goal of the tournament against Denmark, made for a well-deserved position as one of the top scorers.

Noteable Performances

Yussuf Poulsen and Thomas Delaney made a surprise appearance in the semi-finals with Denmark against beaten finalists England. There is no doubt that the brilliant performance of the Danish national team was one of the highlights of the summer.

The team- coached by former FSV Mainz 05 manager Kasper Hjulmand- made it far further than anyone could have expected, knocking out Wales and the aforementioned Czech Republic on the way.

Following Christian Eriksen’s horrific collapse in the first game, Denmark captured the hearts of football fans everywhere, and finished the tournament in their best position for almost 30 years.

Delaney played all six games of EURO 2020, giving his team a 1-0 lead against the Czech Republic in the round of 16. Leipzig’s Yussuf Poulsen bagged two goals- crucially, one of them was the team’s first goal against Belgium in the group stages.

The attacker, who joined RB Leipzig when he was only 19 and the club was playing in the German third division, also scored against Russia to ensure his team progressed in the final game of the group stages.

So, there you have it! If you weren"t aware already, statistics from the Euro 2020 competition show how the German Bundesliga is truly at the top of the football hierarchy!

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Main image credits- Bundesliga Media team

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