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Who is European Steel Champion 2020/21?

Published on July 12, 2021

5 min read

We took a look at the quarter finalists in this year's European Championship and let them compete against each other on the basis of their steel production per capita.

What a match! After England scored the fastest final goal in the history of the European Soccer Championships after only 116 seconds, Italy won the match in a penalty shootout. Italy may be European men's soccer champion, but who is European steel champion 2020/21? We took a look at the quarter finalists in this year's European Championship and let them compete against each other on the basis of their steel production per capita.

Table of Content

1st place: Ukraine 

2nd place: Czech Republic 

3rd place: Italy 

4th place: Spain 

5th place: England 

6th place: Belgium 

7th place: Switzerland

8th place: Denmark

1st place: Ukraine 

Ranking European Men's Soccer Championship 2020/21: Quarterfinals

-Total steel production 20.6 million tons in 2020
-464 kg of steel per capita

A thrilling neck-and-neck race with the runner-up! By a hair's breadth, Ukraine wins the race for the highest steel production per capita. Deservedly so, because in contrast to the Corona-related decline in steel production in many countries, Ukraine has stepped up its production substantially. As a result, the country has climbed from thirteenth place in the world rankings for steel production to 11th place, despite the adverse conditions. 
Steel production is a core industry in the country and contributes more than 10 percent to GDP. 

Germany recently entered into an energy partnership with Ukraine to promote hydrogen production and also exports to Germany. For this to happen, however, Ukraine's electricity market must first be restructured. Then the country's steel production could also become greener. Only time will tell whether this will succeed. 

2nd place: Czech Republic 

Ranking European Men's Soccer Championship 2020/21: Quarterfinals


-Steel production 4.5 million tons in 2020
-422 kg of steel per capita

Second place in our ranking is occupied by a rather insider. But in terms of per capita production, the small country can keep up with the major steel producers. Nevertheless, like many other countries, the Czech Republic was also affected by price developments on the steel market last year. Road construction in particular had to deal with losses. 

3rd place: Italy 

Ranking European men's soccer champions 2020/21: European champion


-Steel production 20.4 million tons in 2020
-337 kg of steel per capita

Winner of the European Men's Soccer Championship, second only to Germany in total steel production in Europe, and also on the winner's podium in our competition. But Italy's steel production has been making mainly negative headlines lately: Plant closures in the economically weak south of Italy and the court case surrounding the Ilva steel mill dominate the picture. 

4th place: Spain 

Ranking European Men's Soccer Championship 2020/21: Semifinals 

- Steel production 11 million tons in 2020
- 234 kg of steel per capita

After a thrilling semifinal, Spain was eliminated from the European Soccer Championships. The southern European country also finished in midfield in our ranking. Corona did not leave the Spanish steel industry unscathed and Spain's crude steel production suffered a 26 percent drop during the pandemic. But there is also good news from Spain - especially on the subject of environmental protection. The "HYDeal" project aims to supply large quantities of climate-neutral hydrogen from Spain at competitive prices to customers in Spain, France and Germany. 

5th place: England 

Ranking European Men's Soccer Championship 2020/21: Final

-Steel production 7.1 million tons in 2020
-106 kg of steel per capita

The steel industry was once a core industry in the UK and the driving force behind industrialization. Steel was also relevant during the two world wars. At the end of World War II, steel was produced mainly by small smelters, of which there were more than 50 in Wales alone (eliminated in the round of 16 in the 2020/21 European Football Championship). At the end of the 1960s, the small steel mills were nationalized to form British Steel. The steel crisis and several waves of strikes followed. In the end, British Steel was privatized again. In 2019, the insolvency of British Steel, the largest British steel producer, followed. 

6th place: Belgium 

Ranking European Men's Soccer Championship 2020/21: Quarterfinals


- Steel production 359 thousand tons in 2020
- 31 kg of steel per capita

This small country has much more to offer than chocolate, French fries and beer. For example, participation in the quarterfinals of the European Championship and a remarkable history in steel production. 
The city of Liège in Wallonia was once the capital of hot steel production in Belgium. In the meantime, many plants have closed because global players prefer plants in Flanders because of its proximity to the port. 

7th place: Switzerland

Ranking European Men's Soccer Championship 2020/21: Quarterfinals

Switzerland is known for its beautiful alpine panorama, first-class watches and, of course, holey cheese. Only very few people will associate soccer and steel production with Switzerland. But Switzerland's largest recycling company is all about steel. Around 600,000 tons of steel a year are extracted from scrap here, i.e. recycled. A good starting point for making steel production greener. 

8th place: Denmark

Ranking European Men's Soccer Championship 2020/21: Semifinals

The images of Denmark's match against Finland, during which midfielder Eriksen collapsed, will probably remain unforgotten. After these dramatic events, many would certainly have wished the team from the far north a better placing than elimination in the semifinals. Denmark was considered more of an insider's tip for the 2020/21 European soccer championships. Not a secret for insiders is that Denmark doesn't have a large steel industry. But the country could become important for the industry in other areas. Denmark has large offshore wind farms in the North Sea that could become suppliers of green energy to other European countries.

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