12 Fastest Goals in EUROs History (Ranked)

There’s nothing like an early goal to settle the nerves of both players and supporters. Tensions are always higher at a major tournament, so a quick-fire strike can become even more important in the European Championships.

They can help a team kick on and discover the necessary confidence to kill a game off early and put the outcome beyond any doubt. Alternatively, there is a school of thought – particularly prevalent in England – which suggests that an early goal puts a team on the back foot and forces them to unsuccessfully protect their lead.

From the group phase all the way to the final, the history of the Euros has been littered with early goals. The competition was only 11 minutes old when the very first European Championship goal was scored by Yugoslavia’s Milan Galic in 1960. France struck back within 60 seconds. Here is a rundown of the fastest goals ever scored on the grand continental stage.

12 Michael Owen

2 minutes, 25 seconds (England vs Portugal)

After an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney had announced himself on the world stage, dragging England through the group stage, it was his predecessor as the country’s boy wonder who took the opportunity to remind everyone what he could do in the quarter-final against Portugal. Michael Owen anticipated David James’ long ball upfield which Costinha could only glance on with a header and hooked his shot over goalkeeper Ricardo to give England the lead after less than two-and-a-half minutes. Rooney soon went down with an injury and had to be taken off, deflating England who were eventually pegged back by Portugal, taken to extra-time and then beaten on penalties.

11 Alan Shearer

2 minutes, 14 seconds (England vs Germany)

England hosted Euro 1996 and for a long time, their fans were convinced it was going to be their year and the phrase ‘it’s coming home’ was born after the release of Skinner and Baddiel’s famous anthem that summer. The Three Lions breezed through the group stage and then won their first-ever competitive penalty shoot-out against Spain in the quarter-finals, leading to another chapter in one of the fiercest international rivalries with the old enemy Germany in the semis. Terry Venables’ side made the dream start when Alan Shearer nodded home his fifth goal of the tournament from close range after less than three minutes, but Germany soon equalised before going on to knock England out on penalties.

10 Petr Jiracek

2 minutes, 14 seconds (Czech Republic vs Greece)

After Russia thrashed them in their first group match of Euro 2012, there was a lot of pressure on the Czech Republic to bounce back against Greece if they were to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. They made a dream start as attacking midfielder Petr Jiracek ran onto Tomas Hubschman’s incisive pass and fired his shot through the hands of Greece goalie Kostas Chalkias, giving his side the lead after just two minutes and 14 seconds. Boosted by Jiracek’s goal, Michal Bilek’s team doubled their lead just three minutes later and held on for a 2-1 win, which helped them to top their group before they were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Portugal in the quarter-finals.

9 Robbie Brady

2 minutes, 0 seconds (Republic of Ireland vs France)

Having edged through their group in third place, Republic of Ireland were pitted against hosts, and favourites, France in the round of 16 at Euro 2016. After such a trepidatious build-up to what would have seemed a near impossible task, Martin O’Neill’s side could scarcely believe their luck when Paul Pogba was judged to have bundled over Shane Long in the penalty area, leading to a spot-kick which Robbie Brady gleefully converted, giving his side the lead after just two minutes. However, Ireland could not weather the storm that followed as Golden Boot winner Antoine Griezmann finally broke their resistance in the 57th minute before scoring the winner four minutes later.

8 Luke Shaw

1 minute, 56 seconds (England vs Italy)

England contested their very first Euro final in 2021 (delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and there was an air of nervous tension around Wembley Stadium before the match. However, Luke Shaw ensured they made the dream start when he got on the end of Kieran Trippier’s cross and registered the fastest goal ever scored in a European Championship final, firing the Three Lions ahead with fewer than two minutes on the clock. England supporters implored Gareth Southgate’s men to push on and kill the game, but after failing to take their chances, they were eventually pegged back by Italy before yet another penalty shootout failure meant that football wouldn’t be coming home that year.

7 Robert Lewandowski

1 minute, 40 seconds (Poland vs Portugal)

Poland will have fancied their chances of reaching their first-ever Euros semi-final in 2016 after easing their way through the group stage and beating Switzerland in the round of 16. They met Portugal in the quarter-final and got off to a flyer thanks to their talisman Robert Lewandowski thumping home Kamil Grosicki’s cross after 100 seconds. Similarly to England in the 2020 final, Adam Nawalka’s side couldn’t hold on as Renato Sanches levelled for the Portuguese in the 32nd minute and was one of five to convert his penalty as his side dumped Poland out and went on to win the entire tournament.

6 Yussuf Poulsen

1 minute, 39 seconds (Denmark vs Belgium)

Denmark had undergone a turbulent first match of Euro 2020 as their star player Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch due to a cardiac arrest and once play eventually resumed after a lengthy delay, Finland pulled off a shock 1-0 victory at the Parken Stadium. The Danes were determined to make up for the defeat and progress from the group and made the perfect start to their next match against group favourites Belgium as Yussuf Poulsen coolly slotted home after less than two minutes played. Although Roberto Martinez’s side came back to win the match, Denmark were still able to qualify for the knockout stages and even made it to the semi-finals as Eriksen watched on in the stands having made a full recovery.

5 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

1 minute, 33 seconds (Georgia vs Portugal)

With qualification from the Euro 2024 group stage on the line, Georgia wasted no time at all getting on the front foot when Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored against Portugal after just 93 seconds. After a fast break saw the Napoli man burst into the Portugal area, he hit the ball low and drove it past an out-rushing Diogo Costa to give his side an early lead.

The strike was a huge one for Georgia and got them off to as good a start as they could have wished for in a game with such high stakes against a side of Portugal’s calibre. Kvaratskhelia was his nation’s hero.

4 Emil Forsberg

1 minute, 22 seconds (Sweden vs Poland)

Yussuf Poulsen’s strike was somehow not the fastest goal scored at Euro 2020. That honour instead fell to Emil Forsberg, who scored less than 90 seconds into Sweden’s closing group match with Poland, after he burst through the opposition defence and fired his shot across Wojciech Szczesny and into the bottom corner. The attacking midfielder, at the time plying his trade for RB Leipzig, would go on to bag a brace in a thrilling match with Poland that the Swedes eventually managed to come out of as 3-2 victors, ensuring they topped Group E and qualified for the knockout stages.

3 Youri Tielemans

1 minute, 13 seconds (Belgium 2-0 Romania)

Belgium toiled away for 90 frustrating minutes against Romania during their first game of Euro 2024. Romelu Lukaku had the ball in the back of the net twice, but neither strike was allowed to stand by the sharp-eyed officials. Youri Tielemans needed just 73 seconds of Belgium’s second match to finally break his nation’s duck at the tournament.

The Aston Villa midfielder steamed onto a dainty lay-off from the luckless Lukaku to blast the Red Devils in front, paving the way for a comfortable 2-0 win to belatedly ignite their summer. Belgium had failed to score from their previous 47 shots at major tournaments after enduring a disappointing group stage at the 2022 World Cup before Tielemans’ early opener.

2 Dmitri Kirichenko

1 minute, 7 seconds (Russia 2-1 Greece)

It had already been confirmed that Russia could not qualify for the knockout round of Euro 2004 by the time they faced Greece in their final opening-phase match. But they were still able to bow out of the tournament with an ounce of pride as they became the only team to beat the eventual surprise winners of the tournament.

CSKA Moscow forward Dmitri Kirichenko set his side on their way as he latched onto a loose ball and poked his shot home to give Russia the lead after just 67 seconds. Dmitri Bulykin doubled Russia’s lead in the 17th minute before Zisis Vryzas nabbed a consolation goal after the break. Greece had to rely upon Portugal’s narrow victory over Spain to sneak into the quarter-finals.

1 Nedim Bajrami

23 seconds (Italy vs Albania)

How to write your name in the record books in less than 30 seconds. The opening fixtures of Euro 2024 sprung up several new records. However, it is this one that may take the most beating.

When defending champions Italy took to the field, the last thing they would’ve been expecting was to be 1-0 down with 90 minutes still to play. That is where Nedim Bajrami enters the fray. The Albanian was the only one alive to a terrible throw by Federico Dimarco, scampering onto the loose ball ahead of Alessandro Bastoni before blasting his 23-second opener beyond Gianluigi Donnaruma to give the underdogs a shock lead. Italy came back to win the contest, but Bajrami can be consoled by his moment of history.

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