Top five highest scoring games in the history of the UEFA Euro

These matches saw teams score numerous goals in order to win.

The UEFA Euro 2020 is heating up and Spain’s 5-3 victory over Croatia in the Round of 16 is a sign of the things yet to come. The match between two powerhouses of European football saw eight goals in a game which took extra-time to settle. There is always a possibility of high-scoring Euro games due to the superior quality of the players on the pitch.

The competition has been historically similar. There have often been instances where matches have seen plenty of goals from both teams. Spain have been a part of a few high-scoring games in the past and they are hitting form at the perfect stage of the tournament. They have now scored five goals in two successive games in the ongoing tournament.

The entertaining clash between Spain and Croatia brings back the memories of some iconic games. Here are five of the highest scoring games in the history of the competition.  

5. France 5-2 Iceland (July 3, 2016)

Iceland's dream run ended after France broke their hearts during the 2016 edition of the UEFA Euro. The French were among the favourites to win the tournament due to the home advantage. As expected, they reached the finals, only to be handed an upset by Portugal in the deciding fixture.

During their course to the final of the tournament, France decimated Iceland by 5-2 in the quarter-finals. The seven goal thriller saw Olivier Giroud (2), Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann score for France. Kolbein Sigthorsson and Birkir Bjarnason were on the scoresheet for Iceland.  

4. Netherlands 6-1 Yugoslavia (June 25, 2000)

Yugoslavia used to participate in international football before the country was split into Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia. The country had a brilliant pool of talented players. The outfit played two high-scoring games during the UEFA Euro 2000, which was held in Belgium and the Netherlands. 

The Dutch played Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals and eliminated their opponents by a 6-1 demolition. Patrick Kluivert scored a hat-trick while Marc Overmars scored a brace for Netherlands. On the other hand, Yugoslavia scored an own goal through Dejan Govedarica and a late consolation from Savo Milosevic.

3. Yugoslavia 3-4 Spain (June 20, 2000)

Yugoslavia was involved in another match that saw seven goals scored in the same edition. The Group C fixture between Yugoslavia and Spain saw the former lose by a 3-4 scoreline. The match was highly entertaining as it saw Spain score two late goals in injury time to snatch three points from Yugoslavia’s hands.

In terms of scorers, Yugoslavia saw Savo Milosevic, Dejan Govedarica and Slobodan Komljenovic score for them. As for the winning team in Spain, Alfonso (2), Pedro Munitis and Gaizka Mendieta were the scorers. 

2. Croatia 3-5 Spain (June 29, 2021)

Spain’s incredible 5-3 victory over Croatia is the latest entrant in the list of highest scoring games at the UEFA Euros. This is the only game to have both teams score a total of eight goals as well. 

Regulation time saw Croatia score two late equalisers to finish the match on 3-3 and send it to extra-time. However, Spain were too good on the evening and came away 5-3 winners to enter the quarter-finals. Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta, Ferran Torres, Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal scored for Spain. As for Croatia, the three goals came from Pedri (OG), Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic.

1. France 4-5 Yugoslavia (July 6, 1960)

The record for the highest scoring game at the European Championships remains unbroken as of yet. France and Yugoslavia played a fabulous game full of entertainment back on July 6, 1960. This was also the first edition of the Euros, which was held in France. 

Yugoslavia came away victorious against France in the semi-final by a scoreline of 5-4, a game that had nine goals overall. They lost the final to Soviet Union eventually. Milan Galic, Ante Zanetic, Tomislav Knez and Drazan Jerkovic scored for Yugoslavia. Jean Vincent, Francois Heutte (2) and Maryan Wisnieski scored for France.

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