12 stand-out moments at UEFA EURO 2024 so far

There is no doubt that football fans have well and truly been spoilt at this year’s UEFA EURO spectacle.

From late stoppage time goals to heartwarming moments on and off the pitch, this year’s tournament has had it all.

As the group stages are nearing an end, Showmax takes a look at some of the standout moments from the EUROs so far.

1. Young pitch invader takes selfie with Cristiano Ronaldo

During a break in the second half of Portugal’s Group F match against Turkey, a child wearing the red tracksuit top of his own youth league team and matching red trainers bounded onto the pitch toward Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner gave 10-year-old Berat a warm welcome, grinning and stretching out his arms.

Berat whipped out a mobile phone and snapped a selfie with the Portugal captain before running off again, zigzagging past two stewards to cheers from the 60 000-capacity crowd. His father, Cetin, told German newspaper Bild that his son got away with a warning for the incident.

2. Hungary’s injury time winner against Scotland

Kevin Csoboth scored in the 10th minute of added time as Hungary snatched a 1-0 win over Scotland to stay in the hunt for a place in the last 16 of Euro 2024.

3. Marcel Sabitzer sends Austria straight to the top

Marcel Sabitzer’s brilliant late goal saw Austria beat the Netherlands to progress into the round of 16 at EURO 2024 as Group D winners. The Austrians needed a point to be sure of progress and got off to a great start with Dutch forward Donyell Malen scoring an own goal in the sixth minute.

4. Zaccagni does it for the Azzurri

A dramatic added-time goal from Italy’s Mattia Zaccagni snatched a 1-1 draw with Croatia, which was enough to earn them a place in the last 16 of EURO 2024 and likely sends Croatia home.

5. New kid on the block Arda Guler score’s sensational goal

Real Madrid’s Arda Guler announced himself on the international stage with a cracking strike as Turkey beat Georgia in the group stages of the UEFA EURO 2024. The youngster, dubbed the “Turkish Messi”, broke Cristiano Ronaldo’s record to become the youngest player to score on their Euros debut.

6. Lamine Yamal makes history

Spain winger Lamine Yamal smashed the record for youngest player to have featured at a UEFA EURO final after taking to the field aged only 16 years 338 days against Croatia at EURO 2024.

7. Legend of the game Luka Modric defies odds

After scoring the goal against Italy in the 55th minute of the match, following a missed penalty a few minutes earlier, Modric became the oldest player to score in the entire history of the EURO at 38 years and 289 days, once again becoming the engine and soul of Croatia.

8. Stoppage time masters

Germany have scored three stoppage-time goals in this year’s spectacle — in the first half, second half or extra time — which is the most by any team in a single UEFA European Championship.

Germany’s Niclas Fullkrug scored a game-tying goal in the 92nd minute against Switzerland to top Group A. This was his second tournament goal, matching his highest goal tally at a single competition for the German national team.

9. Dutch attacker Memphis Depay sports new hairstyle and headband

We live in the internet era where everyone has an opinion. So, imagine the storm when Dutch star Memphis Depay took to the field with a new hairstyle and a headband with the writing “Who Cares” on it at the EUROs.

The Dutch striker sported the headband following criticism from fans after he was spotted wearing a headband during the Netherland’s friendly against Canada last month. Fans and experts did not like the new look, as many criticised the player for butchering a good hairstyle by hiding it with a headband.

10. The masked striker

French striker Kylian Mbappé sported a new look this week as he faced off against Poland on Tuesday night.

The striker wore a protective mask to shield his broken nose in the 1-1 draw with Poland at the European Championship on Tuesday.

While Mbappé did score a penalty for France on the night, he did say he struggled to play with the mask.

11. Shaq attack

Find someone who loves you as much as Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri loves scoring at international tournaments.

The Swiss maestro has earned a reputation for scoring goals at the biggest of stages, and he continued that with a tremendous goal against Scotland.

His stunning first-half strike secured a 1-1 draw for Switzerland against Scotland. It was the sixth-straight major international tournament in which Shaqiri has scored, dating to the World Cup in 2014. Shaqiri (10) has now scored more major tournament goals (World Cup and EUROs) than Eusébio, Alan Shearer, Patrick Kluivert, Wayne Rooney, Raul, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

12. Albania score fastest goal in EURO history

Albania’s Nedim Bajrami surprised Italy with a goal 23 seconds in at the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament — though it didn’t take long for Italy to respond, and they eventually ended up winning the game 2-1.

Bajrami took advantage of a sloppy Italian throw-in to put in the first goal of the match and give Albania the lead, and take the title for the fastest goal in Euros history.

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