What is the average number of goals per game in the European Championship of Football?

In the run up to the FIFA World Cup or European championships of football, a lot of people make bets as to how many goals in total will be scored during the competition. If your prediction is correct, you can sometimes win quite a nice amount of money. However, if you are interested in placing such bets, it might be wise to know the average amount of goals scored in previous championships. The number of goals depend on the number of matches that are played. In 1988 for instance, only 8 teams entered the competition, whereas nowadays there are 24 teams competing. Below you can find information on how many teams participated, and how many goals were scored in total during the UEFA Euros since 1988.

 Year   Goals   Teams 
 2020  142  24
 2016   108  24
 2012  76  16
 2008  77  16
 2004  77  16
 2000  85  16
 1996    64  16
 1992  32  8
 1988  34  8


What is the average number of goals scored per game?

On average, 2.46 goals are scored each match during the UEFA Euro. This has been tracked since the beginning of the championships in 1960. The number of goals scored per match has been decreasing over the years. In 1960, the average number of goals per game was 4.25, way above average. But it has to be said that in 1960 only 4 matches were played in total. If we only look at the average goals per game since the European Cup of 1988, the average number of goals per game is 2.42. Below you can find information about the average number of goals per game for the different European Championships since 1988.

 Year   Average goals
 2018  2.78
 2016  2.12
 2012  2.45
 2008  2.48
 2004  2.48
 2000  2.74
 1996  2.06
 1992  2.13
 1988  2.27

Number of goals European Championship top scorers 

One thing you always have to fill in at football pools during the European Championships is who becomes the top goal scorer, and with how many goals. You can be quite sure the top scorer of the European Championship is playing for a team that reaches the final or semi-finals. The number of goals scored by the top scorer of an European Championship has always been between 2 and 9 goals since the first Euros in 1960. The record holder is Michel Platini (France, 1984), with 9 goals. The average number of goals scored by the EC top scorer is 4.19. The average number of goals scored during European Cups is lower than during World Cups.  

Most goals in UEFA Euro 2016

The most goals scored during UEFA Euro 2016 was the quarter final between France and Iceland. The French won this match with 5-2. With 7 goals, it was the match with the most goals scored.  

See besides average goals European Championship also:
Average Goals per Game World Cup
Average Number of Yellow Cards
Average Marathon Time
Darts Averages