Euro 2020: Ronaldo pockets golden boot award, Donnarumma wins player of the tournament while Spain young star Pedri won young player of the tournament
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| Cristiano Ronaldo wins golden boot award with five goals and one assist at the just concluded Euro 2020 championship. (Photo credit: UEFA.com) |
It’s a tournament of records for 36 year old Cristiano Ronaldo as he claimed the golden boot at the just concluded Euro 2020 championship.
Portugal may have been eliminated as early as the second round at the hands of Belgium, but the Juventus forward was named the official golden boot award winner at the end of a pulsating final between Italy and England on Sunday at Wembley.
Czech Republic forward Patrick Schick scored five goals, the same as the Portuguese living legend, but according to UEFA's standards, Ronaldo's sole assist in the tournament put him ahead of the Napoli player.
Apart from being the tournament's leading scorer, Ronaldo set a number of other records.
He scored twice in Portugal's 3-0 win over Hungary to become the European Championship's all-time men's top scorer, surpassing Michel Platini's 11 goals with France on his way to a total of 14 goals.
Ronaldo scored three of his five goals from the penalty spot. His two late penalty penalties capped Portugal's 2-0 win over Hungary, and another two concluded a 2-2 draw with France, ensuring the defending champions advanced to the knockout round.
Between there was a remarkable performance in a 4-2 loss to Germany, in which he raced the length of the pitch to finish off a quick counter-attack after being fed by Diogo Jota.
Ronaldo also played in a record sixth European Championship, tying Ali Daei of Iran for the most international goals scored by a man (109).
🔝 5 goals in 4 games...
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 11, 2021
🇵🇹 Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo = EURO 2020 Alipay Top Scorer 👏#EUROTopScorer | @Alipay pic.twitter.com/OU9rLeSbjI
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was named UEFA's player of the tournament for Euro 2020.
The 22-year-old, who is due to join PSG from AC Milan, saved two penalties in the Azzurri's shootout victory over England, giving them their first European title since 1968.
Donnarumma had three clean sheets in the tournament, denying Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka from the spot.
After Peter Schmeichel in 1992, he is only the second goalkeeper to win the award.
Donnarumma played the most minutes at Euro 2020, with 719 minutes.
"We were amazing," he stated after the win over England. We didn't give up an inch.
We did it from scratch, we are a fantastic team and we deserve this success."
🇮🇹 Gianluigi Donnarumma = EURO 2020's player of the tournament 👑
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 12, 2021
See his complete stats & previous winners 👇#EURO2020
Pedri, a midfielder for Barcelona in Spain, was awarded young player of the tournament.
The 18-year-old just missed one minute of La Roja's campaign when he was substituted in the quarter-final against Switzerland at the end of extra time. Before the event, he had only four senior caps.
"What Pedri has done in this tournament, at 18, no-one has done," Spain coach Luis Enrique stated. Not even Andres Iniesta did that; it's incredible, unique."
With five goals, Cristiano Ronaldo was the tournament's top scorer. Patrik Schick of the Czech Republic scored the same amount, but Ronaldo of Portugal finished first owing to an assist against Germany.
"What Pedri has done in this tournament, at 18, no one has done. Not even Andrés Iniesta did that; it's incredible, unique." - 🗣️ Luis Enrique
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 12, 2021
EURO 2020 Young Player of the Tournament = 🇪🇸 Pedri 👏👏👏#EURO2020
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