James Milton: Variety of goalscorers is a striking early trend at the Euros

The end of the first round of group fixtures at Euro 2024 feels as though it should be a time for reflection and contemplation.

In reality, though, punters just about had the chance to grab some sleep, a couple of restorative orange slices and a quick glance at Wednesday's card at Royal Ascot before returning to the Euros fray.

One intriguing trend emerging from the matchday-one fixtures was the sheer variety of goalscorers. There were own goals from Germany's Antonio Rudiger, Austria's Maximilian Wober and Czech defender Robin Hranac and the other 31 strikes in the first 12 matches were scored by 31 different players.

In an age of superstar forwards and Ballon d'Or hype, it has been refreshing to see some less predictable names on the scoresheet.

While Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe dominated the Golden Boot battle at the 2022 World Cup, the early heroes at the Euros include Nedim Bajrami, who gave Albania the lead against Italy after just 23 seconds, and Romania's Nicolae Stanciu and Razvan Marin, who scored long-range belters against Ukraine.

Turkey's entertaining victory over Georgia featured three delicious goals. Mert Muldur's brilliant volley and a stunning strike from Real Madrid starlet Arda Guler were followed by Kerem Akturkoglu's breakaway goal in the 97th minute after the opposition goalkeeper had come up for a corner – a classic of the genre. 

Portugal youngster Francisco Conceicao claimed a late winner against the Czechs, two minutes after coming on for his competitive debut, and Christian Eriksen's strike for Denmark, three years on from his on-field collapse at Euro 2020, was a goal cheered across the continent.

Having had a speculative each-way Golden Boot bet on Austria midfielder Christoph Baumgartner at 200-1, I was frustrated to see his close-range effort saved by France keeper Mike Maignan. If that had gone in, Baumgartner would have been well in the hunt after the first round of games, in a 32-way share of the lead …

Several shorter-priced Golden Boot contenders had underwhelming starts to the tournament. Mbappe's cross led to Wober's decisive own goal in France's win over Austria but the forward, who failed to score in four appearances at Euro 2020, then suffered a broken nose.

Harry Kane, rated as Mbappe's main rival for the Boot, was subdued against Serbia while Belgium's Romelu Lukaku had two goals ruled out by VAR and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo failed to find the net against the Czech Republic.

Ronaldo was, however, the only player to register more than two shots on target on matchday one and his Portugal side wasted no time in getting the ball into the box. The fact that there was usually no teammate within 20 yards of those crosses was a minor blip in the Roberto Martinez masterplan but a direct approach looks likely to pay off at the Euros.

International teams rarely have the cohesion, or the necessary training time, to score those deceptively simple goals we see from top club sides – quick, intricate passing around the penalty area, culminating in a perfect cut-back for Erling Haaland to blast the ball into the net from two yards out.

Eleven of the 34 goals in the first round of fixtures came from outside the box. Shooting from distance is certainly a viable tactic for underdogs such as the Czechs, who had 31 per cent of possession against Portugal – the lowest share of any of the 24 teams in their opening fixture – but took the lead in the 62nd minute through a sweet strike from Lukas Provod.

Regression to the mean – that party-pooping statistical concept – suggests the number of spectacular, xG-busting goals is bound to drop but there should be more fun to be had in the match and long-term goalscorer markets at this tournament. 

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