Nedim Bajrami scored for Albania after just 23 seconds against Italy – the fastest goal in EURO history.
The fastest UEFA European Championship goals
0:23 – Nedim Bajrami (Italy 2-1 Albania, 15/06/2024, group stage)
Albania were just 23 seconds into only their second-ever EURO final tournament when Bajrami latched on to Federico Dimarco’s misplaced throw-in and fired past Gianluigi Donnarumma. Cue ecstatic celebrations. They were short-lived, however, with Alessandro Bastoni and Nicolò Barella turning the game in the Azzurri’s favour inside 16 minutes.
1:07 – Dmitri Kirichenko (Russia 2-1 Greece, 20/06/2004, group stage)
Kirichenko watched from the bench as Russia’s EURO 2004 hopes vanished with back-to-back losses, but roared out of the blocks when coach Georgi Yartsev started him for their final Group A outing. The CSKA Moskva man galloped through after 67 seconds to steer a right-foot effort past Antonios Nikopolidis.
1:22 – Emil Forsberg (Sweden 3-2 Poland, 23/06/21, group stage)
Sweden knew victory in their final game would give them top spot in a tough Group E featuring three-time winners Spain. They made a dream start when Leipzig midfielder Forsberg, who had struck the clincher in the previous match against Slovakia, pounced on a ricochet to drill his finish across Wojciech Szczęsny.
Yussf Poulsen celebrates his goal for Denmark against Belgium
1:39 – Yussuf Poulsen (Denmark 1-2 Belgium, 17/06/2021, group stage)
Denmark came racing out of the traps in their second game of EURO 2020 at Parken Stadium, having lost to Finland in their Group B opener in Copenhagen five days before – a match significantly delayed following a medical emergency involving the hosts’ Christian Eriksen. Cue exuberant celebrations back at the same stadium when Poulsen fired across Thibaut Courtois and into the bottom corner.
1:40 – Robert Lewandowski (Poland 1-1 Portugal, aet, Portugal win 5-3 on pens, 30/06/2016, quarter-final)
The Poland centre-forward drew a blank in his first four outings of EURO 2016, but opened his account just 100 seconds into his country’s quarter-final, applying a typically unerring finish to Kamil Grosicki’s pull-back from the left.
1:56 – Luke Shaw (Italy 1-1 England, aet, Italy win 3-2 on pens, 11/07/2021, final)
Shaw had never scored for his country before meeting Kieran Trippier’s pinpoint cross from the right with a first-time finish that gave England a dream start to the EURO 2020 final against Italy. Prior to that, the earliest EURO final goal had come five minutes and 17 seconds into the 1964 showpiece, Chus Pereda puttin Spain ahead against the Soviet Union.
2:00 – Robbie Brady (France 2-1 Republic of Ireland, 26/06/2016, round of 16)This game was exactly two minutes old when Robbie Brady shot Ireland into a shock lead, dispatching a low penalty off the foot of Hugo Lloris’s left-hand post.
2:07 – Sergei Aleinikov (England 1-3 Soviet Union, 18/06/1988, group stage)
When Glenn Hoddle was easily dispossessed, Aleinikov surged through the middle and turned sharply before finishing past Chris Woods to set the USSR on their way to the win they required to reach the semi-finals.
Petr Jiráček celebrates his goal against Greece in 2012
2:14 – Petr Jiráček (Greece 1-2 Czechia, 12/06/2012, group stage)
Tomáš Hübschman’s pass between Greece centre-backs Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Kostas Katsouranis invited Jiráček to convert. The goal was swiftly supplemented by a Václav Pilař finish as the Czechs took their first points at Group A.
2:14 – Alan Shearer (Germany 1-1 England, aet, Germany win 6-5 on pens, 26/06/1996, semi-final)
A blockbuster semi-final began with a bang; Paul Ince had already had a rasping volley turned over by Andreas Köpke when the keeper was beaten, Shearer swooping get his fifth finals goal after Tony Adams flicked on Paul Gascoigne’s corner.