Putting the ball in the back of the net should be a joyous occasion. Pick your target, aim your shot and celebrate when it goes in. But sometimes, you’d score a goal and wish you could disappear. When you score, and you see the opposing fans celebrate – you know you’re having a bad day at work.Eleven players so far have scored own goals in the Euro 2020. Some proved to be match-winners – or match-losers, to be blunt. Some were unfortunate, some were forced by opponents, and some were just sickening. Let’s take a look at the players who ended up with eggs on their faces.#EURO2020 Golden Boot race:1️⃣1️⃣ Own Goals0️⃣5️⃣ Cristiano Ronaldo0️⃣5️⃣ Patrik SchickCan anybody catch Own Goals? 😳 pic.twitter.com/oEcLuQAh1u— Goal (@goal) July 7, 2021 1 – Merih Demiral v ItalyThe first goal of the tournament gave us a taste of what was to come. Turkey and Juventus defender Demiral scored an embarrassing goal to help eventual finalists get their first win. And the less said about Turkey’s efforts in Group A, the better.2 – Wojciech Szczesny v SlovakiaThere’s another Juventus player and another blunder. You cannot really blame the former Arsenal custodian for this one, but it’s still a moment that would have hurt Poland. They arrived to the tournament with hopes of testing themselves against the big boys, but they fell at the first hurdle and, despite making a real effort in their remaining two games, couldn’t make the last 16.3 – Mats Hummels v FranceOuch. This one hurt at the time because it was the tournament’s first clash of two superpowers. The reigning world champions edged it with the Borussia Dortmund defender, the only name on the scoresheet. The centre-back couldn’t deal with Lucas Hernandez’s strong cross, and he put it behind Manuel Neuer’s back.Mats Hummels delights the French (©AFP)4 and 5 – Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro v GermanyYou know it’s not your day when your players score four goals, and you lose 4-2. Portugal was 1-0 ahead thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo opener, but a five-minute nightmare period saw defenders Dias and Guerreiro beat their own goalkeeper to fool us into thinking Germany were better than they actually were.6 – Lukas Hradecky v BelgiumYou’ve got to feel sorry for the Finland goalkeeper because of this one. The brave northerners were holding The Red Devils to a goalless draw with 15 minutes remaining. The slim chances of making it into the knockout round were there primarily because of Hradecky’s earlier heroics. But his reaction for this goal verges on the comical. Belgium won. Finland lost. Poor Lukas.7 and 8 – Martin Dubravka and Juraj Kucka v SpainThe opening win over Poland made brave little Slovakia dream, but it all went downhill from then on. A narrow defeat against Sweden was followed by a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of La Furia Roja. Five goals were conceded, with the first and last being dirty deeds of two of Slovakia’s most experienced players. Both of those were pretty bad, but Dubravka still made us scratch our heads in bewilderment.What are you doing, Martin?! (©AFP)9 – Pedri v CroatiaThis one was sheer madness. And although it’s technically Pedri’s – the real culprit was goalkeeper Unai Simon. It was a seemingly simple backpass. Not much pace on the ball, no pressure from the Croatian players, no bumpy pitch to cause problems. It was a total lapse of concentration from the Athletic Club shot-stopper. Thankfully for him and Pedri, Spain recovered to eliminate Croatia after 120 minutes of football before eventually losing to Italy on penalties.10 – Denis Zakaria v SpainSpain took an early lead against Switzerland in their quarterfinal match when the Borussia Monchengladbach defender turned a Jordi Alba cross beyond his teammate Yann Sommer. It would have ruined a mentally weak side, but credit to the Swiss who managed to recover and force extra-time and penalties – just as they’d done against France in the previous round. Sadly for Zakaria and friends, that’s where their luck ran out.11 – Simon Kjaer v EnglandLet’s get it straight: the Danes are heroes. After what had happened to their friend Christian Eriksen, it’s a miracle that they have found the strength to push on and reach the semis. Kjaer saved Eriksen’s life with his swift reaction on that stressful day in Copenhagen, and he led the team by example, making his nation proud throughout the tournament. It’s so unfortunate that it was him who turned Bukayo Saka’s low cross into the net, but it was a difficult one to deal with under so much pressure.Simon Kjaer prevents Raheem Sterling from scoring a goal… by scoring an own goal (©AFP)There’s one more match to go before the curtain comes down on Euro 2020. You never want to see the label OG next to your name, the least so in the final of a major tournament. But with the number of own goals seen in the last month – we cannot rule out such infamy.
