France failings not down to pass master

Pass master: France may have stuttered so far at UEFA EURO 2004™ but Zinedine Zidane still tops the rankings for most passes completed with an impressive 135 passes finding their target, some 67.5 per cent. His favourite recipient has been Patrick Vieira, who has received 24 per cent of Zidane’s passes.

Crossing king: Zidane’s Real Madrid CF club mate David Beckham has struggled to hit the high spots so far but his favourite weapon is still firing. Beckham is second in the rankings for crosses completed with nine of his deliveries from out wide finding their target. That is two fewer than Spanish midfielder Vicente. For the record, 60 per cent of Beckham’s crosses have found their target and four of the nine have found Frank Lampard.

Top thrower: Bizarre stat update. Italy right-back Christian Panucci heads the listings for most successful throw-ins, having successfully taken 26. Andrea Pirlo is his chief beneficiary, receiving possession from four.

Wing wizards: Despite possessing Dennis Rommedahl, Jesper Grønkjær and Martin Jørgensen, Denmark are only fifth in the rankings for crosses completed. Spain, with Vicente and Joaquín to the fore, have completed 22 crosses. A key to Russia’s poor performances so far maybe their poor record in this category: they have completed four crosses in two games so far.

Marked man: He may be looked upon as a midfield enforcer but it appears that Patrick Vieira is more sinned against than sinner. The France midfielder has been fouled 12 times which is more than any other player. Equally strangely, Portugal’s angel-faced playmaker Deco has committed more fouls than any other player with 13.