[Euro2012] Latin letters of the Euro2012

Attendances: 到场观众 (dàochǎnɡ ɡuānzhònɡ)

Over 1.4 million people attended the matches in the stadiums, ensuring a tournament average of 46,471. The largest single attendance was 64,640 at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv for the match between Sweden and England.

Goals: 进球 (jìnqiú)

76 scored in 31 matches, to be precise.

Headers: 头球 (tóuqiú)

From Robert Lewandowski’s first goal of the finals via Andy Carroll’s thumping effort against Sweden to David Silva’s final opener, there was an abundance of headed goals – 22 or 29% of the overall total.

Keepers: 守门员 (shǒuményuán)

Poland’s Przemysław Tytoń came off the bench to save a penalty with his first touch in the opening match, a fitting start for a tournament featuring some fine goalkeeping displays not least from Gianluigi Buffon and Casillas, the two captains on final night. Both underlined their enduring class with key saves in shoot-outs, while Casillas’s stop from Croatia’s Ivan Rakitić’s header quite possibly spared Spain an early exit.

Mascots: 吉祥物 (jíxiánɡwù)

Slavek and Slavko were an ubiquitous presence.

Nul points: 0分 (0 fēn)

The Netherlands’ tally at the foot of Group B. It was the first time the Dutch had exited a major tournament without a single point and a dramatic reversal of fortune for the 2010 FIFA World Cup runners-up.

Penalties: 点球 (diǎnqiú)

Andrea Pirlo’s Panenka-style effort was an unforgettable touch of class that seemed to give Italy the psychological upper hand in their quarter-final shoot-out with England. Sergio Ramos produced something similar for Spain against Portugal.

Quitting: 退出 (tuìchū)

Slaven Bilić and Dick Advocaat were already leaving Croatia and Russia respectively, but Laurent Blanc and Bert van Marwijk have resigned their posts with France and the Netherlands since departing the EURO.

X-factor: X因素 (X yīnsù)

Cristiano Ronaldo fired Portugal into the last four, Pirlo shone for Italy but ultimately even they were outshone by Spain’s history boys, starting with pass masters Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta and a defence that conceded just one goal.

Youth: 年轻人 (niánqīnɡrén)

Joachim Löw’s exciting Germany team were the youngest at the EURO and completed a world-record 15-match winning run in competitive matches with their quarter-final win against Greece. Their last four tournament appearances have yielded three semi-final losses and a runners-up spot, but youth is on their side.