An (almost) perfect Euro: 89 goals, packed stands, no fans, and a VAR that was free from controversy.

The European Championship in Switzerland is all about the essentials: football and goals. Nothing has distracted the 16 teams from the game they played in packed stadiums, where not a single incident occurred in the stands or on the pitch. Four red cards and 15 VAR interventions were issued without controversy in the group stage. The only disappointment was the serious injury to Germany captain Giulia Gwinn .

This exemplary European Championship—there are hardly any security controls and the police presence is imperceptible—has allowed fan zones to be set up right on the street, something unthinkable at any men's competition. There are no ultras, no spontaneous fans running onto the pitch, as was seen twenty times a year ago in Germany. One drawback is the queues for the restrooms in stadiums built for men.

Because there is a family component, the fans are female and very loyal, which has led to stadiums being sold out in 22 of the 24 matches, bringing the total number to 461,582, with the Germany-Denmark match in Basel being the largest attendance, with 17,000 Germans in the stands at St. Jakob Park.

A goal every 24 minutes

The spectacle is worth it. The players have managed to get the fans celebrating a goal every 24 minutes. The average is over three per game. That's why the record set at England 2022 during the group stage has been shattered: from 78 goals three years ago to 89 this year. And that's despite the fact that VAR, which intervened 15 times, has disallowed six. If it was the English team that ended with 14 goals back then, the Spanish team has now taken over. Montse Tomé 's players have scored 16% of the goals celebrated during these first two weeks.

With the knockout stage still ahead, the all-time record of 95 goals set in England could be surpassed. Only six more remain, and with Spain, Sweden, France, Germany, England, Norway, Italy, and Switzerland in the competition, it will be difficult to beat them. Spain is the most reliable team for this, as they lead all the attacking statistics: goals, shots, possession, and passing accuracy.

Esther González is up front with four goals, and Alexia Putellas has three. The Gotham forward caused a scare yesterday by not training due to groin pain . Tomé hopes to have her back on track by Friday.

What's also missing from this European Championship is noise and refereeing controversy. In addition to the six goals disallowed by VAR, four penalties awarded by the referees on the field have been disallowed—for prior fouls or offside, not errors—and three others have been called. Furthermore, two goals were allowed after drawing the offside lines. These were objective interventions that were not contested on the field. One of them, a goal disallowed for Switzerland against Iceland, was taken by Spaniard Marta Huerta de Aza , with a team consisting of Guadalupe Porras and Eliana Fernández as assistants and Cuadra Fernández on VAR.

In terms of discipline, the players received 49 yellow cards and four red cards, one of them direct. Finland's Antonsdóttir , Norway's Lund, and Portugal's Borges all left the field early due to two bookings. The expulsion went to Germany's full-back Carlotta Wamser , who prevented a Swedish goal with her hand, and she will miss the quarterfinals against France due to suspension. It's a blow for Germany after the shock of losing their captain, who also plays in the same position, to a serious injury. Giulia Gwinn, who had already undergone two previous knee operations, damaged her medial ligament in the second group stage match and is out for the remainder of the championship.