Euro 2016's Notable Trends Following the Group Stages

The real Euro 2016 now begins. The tournament has been stripped down to its old number of 16 teams and, unlike a largely forgiving group stage, every match will now have immediate consequence. That is not to say, however, that there has been no significance in the opening round. You only have to look at the overloaded side of the draw for proof of that. The groups have set the stage, but also given us hard evidence about each of the teams after months of build-up and questions. So, what has it told us so far? What have been some of the most revealing figures about Euro 2016 so far?

It is a very tight tournament

You would sense from the way no team has completely convinced so far, but one stat proves it: this is the first time since Euro 96 that no side has a 100% group-stage record. Only four teams - France, Germany, Poland and Croatia - got more than six points too. That meant that, at the other end, only one side got no points: miserable Ukraine. At 1.92 goals per game, it was also the lowest scoring group stage since Euro 92.

Defences rein… but only to a certain degree

As regards the reasons for that tightness, there are a few, and they are all the more thought-provoking given that so many expected the expanded Euros to see better sides hammer smaller ones. Many have put it down to good defences, but there were a fair few games where one side created so many chances that narrow scorelines should really have been landslides: England 1-1 Russia, Turkey 0-1 Croatia, Spain 1-0 Czech Republic, Poland 1-0 Northern Ireland, France 2-0 Albania, Germany 1-0 Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland are statistically the team with one of the best defences, for example, having only conceded two goals - but also conceded more shots, at 20.3, than anyone else.

It was the same for Iceland, who only conceded three goals. All that probably points to something else: that there has been a lack of ruthlessness, and a lack of properly top strikers. Switzerland’s Haris Seferovic, for example, missed four clear-cut chances in three appearances as almost an emblem for the level of forward in the tournament at all. Of the ones that should be above it, Robert Lewandowski failed to have a shot on target and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had the most shots without scoring.

The late show

That combination of dominant displays and a lack of cutting edge probably explains why there were so many late goals, too. A remarkable 28% of the strikes came in the last 10 minutes, at 19 of the 69, with 15 of those coming after 87 minutes. That is likely because those overworked defences get tired, allowing attacks to finally get a chance they can take.

Still waiting for a team to rise above it all

For a country whose campaign has been dominated about potentially leaving the European Union, the English national team have summed up so much of the championship. They have had by far the most successful dribbles at 59, and are only second in terms of key passes at 52 (Germany are top on 53) but haven’t really made it count. They only scored three group-stage goals - with two coming from set-pieces - and finished second in the group.

In truth, though, it’s been hard to pick out a properly convincing team. Spain have scored the most goals from open play, on five, but had less possession than the Germans. The world champions are on 66.5% per game to Spain’s 63.7%.

One of the early themes of the tournament was how many sides had one big star so much better than everyone else on his team, but they have not always been the ones to impress. Gareth Bale is obviously one of the top scorers and has had five more shots on target than any other player, with his total of 12 also more than 14 of the teams in the competition - including France and Italy. Cristiano Ronaldo’s 30 shots in total are more than eight teams, also including Italy. While Bale has actually been quite quiet in open play, though, Ronaldo has only belatedly come to his best with those two goals against Hungary to put Portugal into the last 16.

Other players have been more constant. N’Golo Kante has predictably made the most interceptions on five per game, while Kevin De Bruyne has made the most key passes on six per game, with Dimitri Payet not far behind on 4.7. Toni Kroos has played more passes than anyone else, at 116, with Granit Xhaka (105.7), Andres Iniesta (105.7) and Kante (90) the closest to that. With the way the tournament has been played, it feels like that control will be crucial going into the matches that really matter.

What stats have stood out for you at Euro 2016 so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below