The top scorer of EURO 2024 continued his streak by scoring again in Austria’s Group D match against the Netherlands. As it stands, Ralf Rangnick’s team is on track to advance to the last 16 as the group leaders, ahead of Tuesday’s opponents and second-placed France. In a bizarre turn of events, Donyell Malen scored an own goal just six minutes into the game, bringing the total number of own goals in the tournament to seven. This was the first own goal scored by Malen’s country at a European Championship, and it also marked the fastest own goal in the tournament’s history.
Interestingly, statistics show that two thirds of all own goals in UEFA European Championship history have been scored in the last two editions. Out of a total of 27 own goals, 18 have occurred in the last two tournaments, with 11 in EURO 2020 and seven so far in EURO 2024. This trend highlights the prevalence of own goals in recent European Championships compared to previous editions. The own goal phenomenon seems to reign supreme in the group stages of the tournament.