TheUEFA European Championship is the mainfootball competition of the men'snational football teams governed byUEFA (the Union of European Football Associations). Held every four years since1960, in the even-numbered year betweenWorld Cup tournaments, it was originally called theUEFA European Nations' Cup, changing to the current name in1968. Starting with the1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form "Euro 2008" or whichever year is appropriate.Prior to entering the tournament all teams other than the host nations (which qualify automatically) compete in a qualifying process.
TheRepublic of Ireland have participated in three European Championship finals, those held in1988,2012 and2016.[1][2][3][4]
The side have played ten matches: winning two, drawing two and losing six. They have scored six goals and conceded sixteen. In 2012, they equalled the worst performance by a team in European Championship history.[5] They finished bottom of their group and were the first team eliminated from the tournament following a 4–0 defeat toSpain in their second game. In 2016, the nation reached the second round for the first time, following a 1–0 group stage victory againstItaly.
| UEFA European Championship record | Qualification record | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Position | |
 1960 | Did not qualify | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Preliminary round | ||||||||
 1964 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 12 | Quarter-finals | |||||||||
 1968 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 3/4 | |||||||||
 1972 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 4/4 | |||||||||
 1976 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 2/4 | |||||||||
| 1980 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 3/5 | |||||||||
 1984 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 10 | 3/5 | |||||||||
 1988 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1/5 | |
 1992 | Did not qualify | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 2/4 | ||||||||
 1996 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 13 | 2/6; LostPlay-off | |||||||||
 2000 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 7 | 2/5; LostPlay-off | |||||||||
 2004 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 3/5 | |||||||||
  2008 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 14 | 3/7 | |||||||||
  2012 | Group stage | 16th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 8 | 2/6; WonPlay-off | |
| 2016 | Round of 16 | 15th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 22 | 8 | 3/6; WonPlay-off | |
 2020 | Did not qualify | 11 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 3/5; LostPlay-off | ||||||||
| 2024 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 4/5 | |||||||||
  2028 | To be determined | To be determined | ||||||||||||||
 2032 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | Round of 16 | 3/17 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 17 | 138 | 55 | 41 | 42 | 199 | 151 | — | |
| List of UEFA European Championship matches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result | Republic of Ireland scorers |
| 1988 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland1–0 England | Win | Ray Houghton 6' |
Republic of Ireland1–1 Soviet Union | Draw | Ronnie Whelan 38' | ||
| Republic of Ireland0–1 Netherlands | Loss | — | ||
| 2012 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland1–3 Croatia | Loss | Sean St Ledger 19' |
 Spain4–0 Republic of Ireland | Loss | — | ||
| Italy2–0 Republic of Ireland | Loss | — | ||
| 2016 | Group stage | Republic of Ireland1–1 Sweden | Draw | Wes Hoolahan 49' |
| Belgium3–0 Republic of Ireland | Loss | — | ||
| Italy0–1 Republic of Ireland | Win | Robbie Brady 86' | ||
| Round of 16 | France2–1 Republic of Ireland | Loss | Robbie Brady 2' (pen.) | |
Ireland qualified for the finals after winningGroup 7 of the qualifying tournament. A late goal byScotland'sGary Mackay againstBulgaria inSofia ensured that Ireland won the group ahead of Bulgaria.[6][7]
 | ||
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | |
| 3 | Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | England | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
Ireland qualified for the finals after winningan unprecedented 5–1 aggregate play-off win againstEstonia in the qualifying tournament. A 4–0 victory away inTallinn and a 1–1 draw in Dublin ensured Ireland's qualification for UEFA Euro 2012.
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On 7 May 2012,Giovanni Trapattoni announced his 23-man squad list for Euro 2012, along with a five-man stand-by list.[8]Keith Fahey withdrew with a groin injury on 26 May and was replaced byPaul Green.[9] On 29 May 2012,Kevin Foley was replaced byPaul McShane.[10] The Ireland team was the only squad at the tournament to consist entirely of players from foreign leagues.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 | 7 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Republic of Ireland | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 |
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The Republic of Ireland announced their final squad for Euro 2016 on 31 May 2016.[14] The group contained eight players who began their senior careers in Ireland'sdomestic league, the most for any Irish squad at a major tournament.
Ireland began their campaign on 13 June at theStade de France againstSweden. In the first half,John O'Shea almost got on the end of a set-piece in front of goal andJeff Hendrick smashed the crossbar with a long range shot. The match was scoreless at half-time. In the 48th minuteSéamus Coleman got down the right wing and crossed forWes Hoolahan to catch the ball on the half volley with his right foot from twelve yards out to put Ireland in front.[15]In the 71st minuteZlatan Ibrahimović cut in on the left side and crossed dangerously withCiaran Clark heading the ball into his own net from close range.[16]The match finished in a 1–1 draw.[17]
On 18 June, Ireland lost 3–0 toBelgium in their second group game inBordeaux.[18]The match was 0–0 at half-time beforeRomelu Lukaku opened the scoring in the 48th minute with a low shot to the right corner. It was 2–0 in the 61st minute whenAxel Witsel headed into the net from aThomas Meunier cross from the right.[19]The third goal came in the 70th minute, again from Romelu Lukaku who finished easily with a low shot to the right of the goalkeeper after a break away fromEden Hazard on the right.[20]
On 22 June, Ireland defeatedItaly 1–0 in their finalgroup game to qualify for theknockout stage and a round of 16 match against hostsFrance.[21]The only goal came in the 85th minute, a header byRobbie Brady after a cross fromWes Hoolahan on the right.[22][23]
On 26 June, Ireland played France in theround of 16, at theParc Olympique Lyonnais inLyon.[24]They took an early lead in the 2nd minute whenRobbie Brady scored with a penalty, shooting low to the right of the goalkeeper and in off the post, afterShane Long had been fouled byPaul Pogba.[25]Antoine Griezmann leveled the match in the 58th minute with a header after a cross fromBacary Sagna on the right and then scored a second three minutes later with a low shot to the goalkeepers left.Shane Duffy was sent-off in the 66th minutes when he fouled Griezmann as the last man.[26]France went on to win the game 2–1 to advance to the quarter-finals.[27]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6[a] | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | Belgium | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6[a] | |
| 3 | Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Sweden | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 |
| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B |  Slovakia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | Advance toknockout stage |
| 2 | E | Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 4 | |
| 3 | F | Portugal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | C |  Northern Ireland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 5 | D | Turkey | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 6 | A |  Albania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 3 |