Twitter on Poland at the Euro 2016 - some statistics - part 1 - group stage
A few days have passed since our representation ended its journey in the
European Football Championship. Just as millions of Poles in front of
their television sets, so did the programmers from SoftwareMill become
emotionally engaged in the performances of Robert Lewandowski and
his teammates. An additional effect of those emotions, was what happened on Twitter
in the context of the performances of the Polish team during the Euro.
We have divided the entire analysis, due to its length, into two parts:
The first part discusses the matches of the Polish team during the group stage
The second part describes the knockout phase
In short about the method
We have created a few programs which collected tweets marked with
hashtags related to the matches of the Polish team (for example for the
Poland-Portugal match these were #POLPOR, #PORPOL, #POL #POR) during five
days surrounding the match.
Due to Twitter’s API limitations, we do understand that the data may not
be 100% precise, but it does show the most important and interesting
moments on Twitter in the context of the matches played by the Polish
team during the Euro 2016.
We have adopted the following approaches in listing the most popular tweets for each match:
We count the sum of RTs and likes for a given tweet
We divide the top 5 tweets into Polish tweets and other, in order
to avoid a situation in which tweets in the English language would dominate in the collective listTweets by official club or organization accounts (UEFA, ZPN, etc.) are not taken into consideration
Poland - Northern Ireland 1 - 0
Top 5 most popular polish tweets about the match
1
Najpiękniejsze starcie kibiców jakie widziałem Ogórek, ogórek kontra will grigg is on fire #EURO2016 #pol #NIR pic.twitter.com/mIHsauDF9M
— Andrzej Klemba (@and_klemba) June 12, 2016
2
JEZU PŁACZĘ XDDDD #zdjeciaktorenieprzestanamniesmieszyc #POL #Euro #ZdjeciaKtoreZryłyMiPsychike #POLNIR pic.twitter.com/reU2O9jX78
— ✬Hipogryf✬ (@sweethemmox) June 12, 2016
3
W SKRÓCIE TO
— ziutka (@herriloui) June 12, 2016
POLSKA WYGRAŁA
PISZCZEK I SZCZĘSNY SIE PRAWIE ZABILI
KAPUSTKA KRASZEM CAŁEGO TT
KAŻDY CHOCIAŻ 5 RAZY MIAŁ ZAWAŁ
#POLNIR #pol
4
Ogromne brawa dla naszej drużyny! :-)
— KancelariaPrezydenta (@prezydentpl) June 12, 2016
Gratulacje dla @arekmilik9. #POLNIR #ŁączyNasPiłka
5
Mój tata krzyknął: Milik, ty chu..
— Wieczny Kac✌#POL (@Gabuszkaa) June 12, 2016
*mama zrobiła morderczy wzrok*
Tata:Chuliganie ! #POLNIR #najlepszetekstymoichrodzicow
Top 5 most popular tweets from the abroad about the match
1
Polskaaaaaaaaaa! ✊🏼🇵🇱 #EURO2016 #POLNIR #roots pic.twitter.com/XsNm1L7dWf
— Matt Pokora (@MPokora) June 12, 2016
2
#POLNIR pic.twitter.com/j9TpK65BGb
— Troisième Poteau (@TroisiemePoteau) June 12, 2016
3
Northern Ireland fans and Poland fans indulge in a pre-match dance off. Love this. #NIR #POL https://t.co/fGLBvwDx3W
— Football__Tweet (@Football__Tweet) June 12, 2016
4
RT for Lewandowski
— Football Battles (@FootbaIIBattIes) June 12, 2016
LIKE for Grigg#POL #NIR pic.twitter.com/swGRlpxjKH
5
— Célia Jaunat (@CeliaJaunat) June 12, 2016
Here, as you can see, the fans’ singing clash with, a surprising inclusion
of the song about the green cucumber, referencing the color of our first
rival’s sportswear during the Euro, has been the most exhilarating moment.
Even foreign Twitter users appreciated the behavior of the fans of both
teams prior to the match.
Abroad, Matt Pokora - a French singer which has roots in our country - clearly
declared himself as rooting for our representation during this match.
Celia Jaunat, the partner of Grzegorz Krychowiak, also found herself on
our list. I wonder, for whom would the pair root, if it were a match
between Poland and France.
Number of tweets during the match
(each rectangle shows the number of tweets within a three minute period: 0-3, 3-6 minutes of the match and so forth)
This graph shows us the reactions of Twitter users during the match. Comparing the highest fluctuations with the events on the field, we can easily notice that these correspond to:
The beginning of the game
The 51st minute of the match when Arkadiusz Milik scores a goal
The 95th minute, when the referee whistles for the last time and the match ends with the first historical victory of Poland during the European Football Championship
Germany - Poland 0 - 0
Top 5 most popular polish tweets about the match
1
Radość po wczorajszym meczu :-)#POLGER #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/jFRHsKjuUi
— KancelariaPrezydenta (@prezydentpl) June 17, 2016
2
Pewnie nie uwierzycie, ale uważam, że Polska wygra z Niemcami 3-2. Lewy strzeli dwie bramki. Do przerwy 1-1:) #POLGER #POL #PolskaGola
— Maciej Wąsik (@WasikMaciej) June 14, 2016
3
Tak dziś będzie? #POL #POLGER #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/JHjgUYQlr7
— Damian Racławski (@DamianRaclawski) June 16, 2016
4
#POLGER #12zawodnik #EURO2016 #pogoda Chłopaki, zawsze z Wami! Powodzenia! Dajcie im popalić! pic.twitter.com/vcMmFzr5UZ
— Ilona Januszewska (@januszewskai) June 16, 2016
5
Kot przemówił, sprawa zakończona #POLGER pic.twitter.com/5HqL7jGz3n
— Marcin Makowski (@makowski_m) June 15, 2016
Top 5 most popular tweets from the abroad about the match
1
On our way to the #training. 🚘 Next challenge against #POL is already waiting for us on Thursday! 😎⚽ #GER #Draxler pic.twitter.com/gaXZfMOhGd
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) June 13, 2016
2
Let's go to Paris #diemannschaft #GERPOL #esmuellert #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/7ep3d7SEtr
— Thomas Müller (@esmuellert_) June 15, 2016
3
Hard match against Poland - 0:0. #GERPOL #diemannschaft #EURO2016 #esmuellert pic.twitter.com/qi7R0I2BsK
— Thomas Müller (@esmuellert_) June 17, 2016
4
It was a very intense game last night. On Tuesday we’ll clinch a round of 16 spot! 🇩🇪 #GERPOL #DieMannschaft #EURO2016
— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) June 17, 2016
5
Final training at the Stade de France ⚽️🇩🇪 #GERPOL#EURO2016#poldi #lp10 pic.twitter.com/kjpJLYkzaY
— Lukas-Podolski.com (@Podolski10) June 15, 2016
After this match, the happiness of the Presidential Pair has been as enormous
as if the Polish team had won. And that is because the rival was, after all,
the current world champion. Although, as it can be seen in other popular tweets,
some fans even optimistically bet on the Polish team winning the match.
The ranking of foreign tweets has been dominated by those of the German players
themselves. Which just shows how popular they are in the world, and how popular
is Twitter with our western neighbors. Thomas Mueller right after the game
acknowledged the hard to achieve tie in the match with the Polish team.
Number of tweets during the match
(each rectangle shows the number of tweets within a three minute period: 0-3, 3-6 minutes of the match and so forth)
Because there were no goals, there were also lower fluctuations of activity on Twitter than during
the match with Northern Ireland. But after comparing with the match report,
there is some correlation with what happened on the field:
Beginning of the match
5th minute: Goetze shoots above the crossbar after a cross by Draxler
45th and 46th minutes: the beginning of the second half, and the moment in which there were only centimeters separating Milik from putting the ball in the net with this head
68th and 69th minute: first Milik doesn’t land a kick at a ball passed on the ground from the wing, and then Fabiański brilliantly saves Oezil’s shot
94th minute: the end of the match and we have 4 points after 2 games!
Ukraine - Poland 0 - 1
Top 5 most popular polish tweets about the match
1
O MATKO POPŁAKAŁAM SIĘ JAK TO ZOBACZYŁAM 😹😂😂 #POL #UKRPOL pic.twitter.com/hbLf31KDcR
— bubbly (@ad0redyou1d) June 21, 2016
2
O NIE WYGRAŁO XD#UKRPOL #pol pic.twitter.com/3iCvKsKvXM
— Polska wygrała Euro. (@hereformyidols9) June 21, 2016
3
UKRAINIEC CIĄGNIE POLAKA ZA KOSZULKĘ "ALE MOCNE KOSZULKI MAMY, NIE JAK SZWAJCARIA" KOMENTATOR WYGRAŁ 😂 #POL #UKRPOL
— ziutka (@herriloui) June 21, 2016
4
To mieszane uczucie gdy oglądasz mecz a przed tobą siada @MGortat 😉 #UKRPOL pic.twitter.com/1or5jct9Hm
— Michał Pol (@Polsport) June 21, 2016
5
#POLUKR 1:0
— KancelariaPrezydenta (@prezydentpl) June 21, 2016
Gratulujemy!#POL #UKR pic.twitter.com/IEgMoKLOWA
Top 5 most popular tweets from the abroad about the match
1
Who's better? Past or present...
— Football Battles (@FootbaIIBattIes) June 21, 2016
RT for Shevchenko
LIKE for Lewandowski#UKR #POL pic.twitter.com/no66s4borN
2
RT for Błaszczykowski
— Football Battles (@FootbaIIBattIes) June 21, 2016
LIKE for Konoplyanka#UKR #POL pic.twitter.com/XpruLbrXOS
3
Les fans Polonaises sont présentes pour #UKRPOL #UKR #POL #Marseille #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/fnUd4ohT9B
— DailyMarseille (@DailyMarseille) June 21, 2016
4
Stade Velodrome is sensational. Probably the best stadium I have ever watched Football in! #Marseille #POL #UKR pic.twitter.com/FuPSgAEMPE
— Ben (@BCAFCBH) June 21, 2016
5
GOAL
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 21, 2016
What an impact from the substitute!
Jakub Błaszczykowski gives #POL the lead vs #UKRhttps://t.co/vIzEzvA7Am pic.twitter.com/LEqUMhMMsf
This match was of a much lesser importance, so the Polish fans were less emotionally engaged
in the events, and thus mostly humoristic tweets appeared on Twitter. Moreover,
because of the still fairly small popularity of Twitter in Ukraine,
there very little foreign tweets. Even more so, at the same time a match
between two much more “tweetable” countries took place – Germany and Northern Ireland
Number of tweets during the match
(each rectangle shows the number of tweets within a three minute period: 0-3, 3-6 minutes of the match and so forth)
Because there were no goals, there were also lower fluctuations of activity on
Twitter than during the match with Northern Ireland. But after comparing with the match report,
there is some correlation with what happened on the field:
The beginning of the match
4th minute: Lewandowski doesn’t score just a few meters from the goal
17th minute: Yarmolenko shots right next to the post
54th minute: Błaszczykowski scores a goal and we are winning 1-0
95th minute: the end of the match and we finish the group stage in second place
Summary
At this point we end the first part of our analysis of tweets and we
invite you to read the second part,
concerning the knockout phase with the Polish team.