EURO 2020 stats: fastest players, distance covered, attacking runs and best dribblers
Monday, July 12, 2021
Article summary
The Volkswagen Mobility statistics highlight some heroic efforts by players at UEFA EURO 2020, with Jorginho and Raheem Sterling among the top performers.
Article top media content
Article body
Which players ran fastest and covered the most distance at UEFA EURO 2020? Which 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 were been the big performers at the finals.
Distance covered (km)
86.61: Jorginho (Italy)
82.99: Kalvin Phillips (England)
76.14: Pedri (Spain)
74.33: Harry Kane (England)
68.35: Raheem Sterling (England)
No outfield player was involved for more minutes at the finals than Jorginho, and the Italian metronome made the most of his time by covering more ground that anyone else at the tournament. A word too for 18-year-old Spain schemer Pedri, who was one of the standout performers at EURO 2020, and was top of this pile until his team were eliminated in the semi-finals.
Distance covered in possession (km)
38.23: Pedri (Spain)
33.12: Jorginho (Italy)
31.21: Koke (Spain)
30.98: Kalvin Phillips (England)
30.91: Aymeric Laporte (Spain)
The statistics reflect that Spain were the greatest exponents of possession-based football at EURO 2020, with three La Roja players in the top five for covering the most distance in possession despite featuring in one game less than England and Italy. Jorginho, meanwhile, covered a staggering 7.73km more than the next Italian player on the list – 11th-placed Lorenzo Insigne.
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 Négo and Italy's left-back Spinazzola were the men to chase, though it would be a photo finish between most of the top six in a 100m sprint. In all, there were 13 players who clocked a speed greater than 33 km/h across the finals. Italy's Federico Chiesa (31.7km/h) and England's Kyle Walker (31.3km/h) were the top two performers in the final.
Most sprints
298: Raheem Sterling (England)
277: Joakim Mæhle (Denmark)
276: Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Italy)
266: Kalvin Phillips (England)
254: Ciro Immobile (Italy)
Of Sterling's 298 sprints, 63 came in the semi-finals – the highest total of any player in the last-four games – and 50 in the decider. Atalanta full-back Mæhle returned from this EURO with his personal reputation hugely enhanced and was 29 clear of Sterling ahead of the final. In the showpiece itself, Italy's Emerson led the way with 65 sprints, 13 more than the Three Lions' Mason Mount.
Key passes
31: Pedri (Spain)
19: Koke (Spain)
19: Jordi Alba (Spain)
19: Lorenzo Insigne (Italy)
18: Emil Forsberg (Sweden)
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 Insigne was the highest-ranked finalist in terms of key passes, though colleagues Nicolò Barella (16) and Marco Verratti (15), and indeed England's Mount (16) were not far behind.
Successful dribbles
22: Raheem Sterling (England)
15: Federico Chiesa (Italy)
13: Martin Braithwaite (Denmark)
11: Andriy Yarmolenko (Ukraine)
10: Kylian Mbappé (France)
Speaking to the BBC, former England defender Rio Ferdinand purred at Sterling's desire to "create chaos" every time he 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-final against Denmark (over twice as many as any other player in the last four) with a further four in the decider. Italy's Chiesa and, more surprisingly, Three Lions defensive midfielder Declan Rice topped the list for the final itself with five apiece.
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 (nine and eight respectively) were the highest-ranked England players by this metric with Spinazzola and Insigne, with six successful ones each, Italy's top crossers – though their game was more about short passes or direct assaults on goal.
Solo runs into attacking third
27: Pedri (Spain)
25: Marco Verratti (Italy)
19: Raheem Sterling (England)
18: Marcos Llorente (Spain)
17: Luke Shaw (England)
Pedri was way ahead of the pack again heading into the final but Verratti finished the tournament like an express train, racking up an astounding 13 ventures in the last third in the decider. Little wonder that the indefatigable Italy midfielder had to be replaced by Manuel Locatelli early in extra time. For comparison, the next highest number on the list from the Wembley showpiece was Shaw with five, though that figure was across the whole 120 minutes.
Solo runs into penalty area
16: Lorenzo Insigne (Italy)
15: Raheem Sterling (England)
13: Kylian Mbappé (France)
12: Joakim Mæhle (Denmark)
11: Leonardo Spinazzola (Italy)
11: Federico Chiesa (Italy)
No player took the ball into the opposition penalty area as much as Insigne during EURO 2020 and England certainly breathed a sigh of relief when he departed the stage in the final after 90 minutes. Sterling ran him close over the tournament with six of his bursts arriving against a tiring Denmark in the semi-finals. The pair were joint top of the pile in the final alongside Chiesa and Emerson.