The 2012 edition of the European Nations Cup recorded an exceptional phenomenon, after six stars shared the list of top scorers in the tournament with three goals, before the title was awarded to Spaniard Fernando Torres, as he played the fewest playing minutes compared to the rest of the stars.
Torres shared the top scorer position with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Croatia’s Mario Mandzukic, Germany’s Mario Gomez, Italy’s Mario Balotelli, and Russia’s Alan Dzagoev, in a tournament hosted by Poland and Ukraine, which was won by the Spanish national team.
Torres’s first goal came in the second round of the group stage, by scoring two of the four goals achieved by the Spanish national team in its broad victory over the Irish national team with a clean score, before his star was absent until the final match, in which he was able to score the third “Matador” goal against Italy in a match that ended. 4-0 for the Spanish national team.
During its journey to the final, the Spanish national team was able to eliminate strong teams, most notably its victory over France in the quarter-finals with two goals scored by Xabi Alonso, before Portugal was eliminated in the semi-finals on penalties 4-2 in a match that ended in a goalless draw in regular time.
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