TheUEFA European Football Championship,[1] less formally theEuropean Championship and informally theEuro orEuros,[2][3] is the primaryassociation football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contested by UEFA members' seniormen's national teams, determining thecontinental champion of Europe.[4][5] It is the second-most watched football tournament in the world after theFIFA World Cup; theEuro 2016 final was watched by a global audience of around 600 million.[6] The competition has been held every four years since1960,[7][8][9] except for2020, when it was postponed until 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Europe, but kept the name Euro 2020. Scheduled to be in the even-numbered year between FIFA World Cup tournaments, it was originally called theEuropean Nations' Cup before changing to its current name in1968. Since 1996, the individual events have been branded as "UEFA Euro [year]".
Before entering the tournament, all teams other than the host nations (which qualify automatically) compete in aqualifying process. Until 2016, the championship winners could compete in the following year'sFIFA Confederations Cup, but were not obliged to do so.[10] From the 2020 edition onwards, the winner competes in theCONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions.[11]
The seventeen European Championship tournaments have been won by ten national teams:Spain have won four titles,Germany have won three titles,Italy andFrance have won two titles, and theSoviet Union,Czechoslovakia, theNetherlands,Denmark,Greece andPortugal have won one title each. To date, Spain is the only team to have won consecutive titles, doing so in 2008 and 2012.
Regional tournaments for national teams existed before the advent of a truly pan-European competition. Starting in 1883, theBritish Home Championship was an annual competition contested between theUnited Kingdom's four national teams,England,Scotland,Wales, andIreland. Until these national teams entered theFIFA World Cup in1950, it was the most important international tournament these nations competed in. Similarly, from 1927 until 1960, theCentral European International Cup was held six times. It brought together the national teams ofAustria,Hungary,Italy,Czechoslovakia,Switzerland, andYugoslavia. The idea for a pan-European football tournament was first proposed by theFrench Football Federation's secretary-generalHenri Delaunay in 1927, but it was not until 1958 that the tournament was started, three years after Delaunay's death.[13] In honour of Delaunay, the trophy awarded to the champions is named after him.[14] The1960 tournament, held in France, had four teams competing in the finals out of 17 that entered the competition.[15] It was won by theSoviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a tense final inParis.[16]Spain withdrew from its quarter-final match against the Soviet Union because of two political protests.[17] Of the 17 teams that entered the qualifying tournament, notable absentees were England, theNetherlands,West Germany and Italy.[18]
Spain held the next tournament in1964, which saw an increase in entries to the qualification tournament, with 29 entering;[19] West Germany was a notable absentee once again andGreece withdrew after being drawn againstAlbania, with whom they were still at war.[20] The hosts beat the title holders, the Soviet Union, 2–1 at theSantiago Bernabéu Stadium inMadrid.[21]
The tournament format stayed the same for the1968 tournament, hosted and won by Italy.[22][23] For the first and only time, a match was decided on acoin toss (the semi-final between Italy and the Soviet Union)[24] and the final went to areplay, after the match against Yugoslavia finished 1–1.[25] Italy won the replay 2–0.[26] More teams entered this tournament (31), a testament to its burgeoning popularity.[27]
The1976 tournament in Yugoslavia was the last in which only four teams took part in the final tournament, and the last in which the hosts were chosen from the four qualified teams. Czechoslovakia beat West Germany in the newly introducedpenalty shootout. After seven successful conversions,Uli Hoeneß missed, leaving CzechoslovakianAntonín Panenka with the opportunity to score and win the tournament. An "audacious"chipped shot,[31] described by UEFA as "perhaps the most famous spot kick of all time" secured the victory as Czechoslovakia won 5–3 on penalties.[32]
The competition was expanded to eight teams in the1980 tournament, again hosted by Italy. It involved a group stage, with the winners of the groups going on to contest the final, and the runners-up playing in the third place play-off.[33] West Germany won their second European title by beatingBelgium 2–1, with two goals scored byHorst Hrubesch at theStadio Olimpico inRome.[34] Horst Hrubesch scored early in the first half beforeRené Vandereycken equalised for Belgium with a penalty in the second half. With two minutes remaining, Hrubesch headed the winner for West Germany from aKarl-Heinz Rummeniggecorner.[35]
France won their first major title at home in the1984 tournament, with their captainMichel Platini scoring 9 goals in just 5 games, including the opening goal in the final, in which they beat Spain 2–0.[36][37] The format also changed, with the top two teams in each group going through to a semi-final stage, instead of the winners of each group going straight into the final. Thethird place play-off was also abolished. The losing teams from the semi-finals win the bronze medal.[38]
Ruud Gullit and the Netherlands team celebrating their victory in 1988
West Germany hostedUEFA Euro 1988, but lost 2–1 to theNetherlands, theirtraditional rivals, in the semi-finals, which sparked vigorous celebrations in the Netherlands.[39][40] The Netherlands went on to win the tournament in a rematch of their first game of the group stage, beating the Soviet Union 2–0 at theOlympiastadion inMunich.[41]Marco van Basten scored the second goal, a volley over the keeper from the right wing which is often considered one of the best goals ever scored.[42]
England hostedUEFA Euro 1996, the first tournament to use thenomenclature "Euro [year]" and would see the number of teams taking part double to 16.[47] The hosts, in a replay of the1990 FIFA World Cup semi-final, were knocked out on penalties by Germany.[48] The surprise team of the tournament was the newly formedCzech Republic, participating on its first international competition following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which reached the final after beating Portugal and France in the knockout stage. Germany would go on to win thefinal 2–1 thanks to the firstgolden goal ever in a major tournament, scored byOliver Bierhoff five minutes into extra time.[49][50] This was Germany's first title as a unified nation.
UEFA Euro 2000 was the first tournament to be held by two countries, in the Netherlands and Belgium.[51] France, the reigningWorld Cup champions, were favoured to win, and they lived up to expectations when they beat Italy 2–1 afterextra time, having come from being 1–0 down:Sylvain Wiltord equalised in the last minute of regular time andDavid Trezeguet scored the winning golden goal in extra time.[52]
UEFA Euro 2004, like 1992, produced an upset:Greece, who had only qualified for one World Cup (1994) and one European Championship (1980) before, beat hostsPortugal 1–0 in the final (after having also beaten them in the opening game) with a goal scored byAngelos Charisteas in the 57th minute to win a tournament for which they were considered among the biggest underdogs.[53][54] On their way to thefinal, they also beat holders France[55] as well as the Czech Republic with asilver goal,[56][57] a rule which replaced the previous golden goal in 2003, before being abolished itself shortly after this tournament.
The2008 tournament, hosted by Austria and Switzerland, marked the second time that two nations co-hosted and the first edition where the new trophy was awarded.[58] It commenced on 7 June and finished on 29 June.[59] Thefinal between Germany and Spain was held at theErnst Happel Stadion inVienna.[60] Spain defeated Germany 1–0, with a goal scored byFernando Torres in the 33rd minute, sparking much celebration across the country.[61] This was their first title since the 1964 tournament. Spain were the highest scoring team with 12 goals scored andDavid Villa finished as the top scorer with four goals.Xavi was awarded the player of the tournament, and nine Spanish players were picked for theteam of the tournament.
TheUEFA Euro 2012 tournament was co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.[62] Spain defeated Italy 4–0 in thefinal, thus becoming the first nation to defend a European Championship title, as well as the first European team to win three consecutive major tournaments.[63] In scoring the third goal of the final, Torres became the first player to score in two European Championship finals. He was equal top scorer for the tournament with three goals in total, along withMario Balotelli,Alan Dzagoev,Mario Gómez,Mario Mandžukić, andCristiano Ronaldo, despite only being used as a substitute player. The tournament was otherwise notable for having the most headed goals in a Euro tournament (26 out of 76 goals in total); a disallowed goal in theEngland versus Ukraine group game which replays showed had crossed the goal line, and which promptedPresident of FIFASepp Blatter totweet, "GLT (Goal-line technology) is no longer an alternative but a necessity",[64] thus reversing his long-held reluctance to embrace such technology; and some crowd violence in group games.
In 2007, theFootball Association of Ireland andScottish Football Association proposed the expansion of the tournament, which was later confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee in September 2008.[65][66] Out of the 54 member associations of UEFA, only three, includingEngland andGermany, opposed the expansion.[67] On 28 May 2010, UEFA announced thatUEFA Euro 2016 would be hosted by France. France beat bids of Turkey (7–6 in voting in the second voting round) and Italy, which had the fewest votes in the first voting round.[68] Euro 2016 was the first to have 24 teams in the finals.[69] This was the third time France have hosted the competition. Portugal, which qualified for the knock-out phase despite finishing third in its group, went on to win the championship by defeating heavily favoured host team France 1–0 in thefinal, thanks to a goal fromEder in the 109th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's world-renowned striker, came out of the game due to injury in the 25th minute. This was the first time Portugal won a major tournament.[70]
For the2020 tournament, three bids were proposed, including a bid from Turkey,[71] a joint bid from the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales,[72] and a joint bid from Georgia and Azerbaijan.[73] In December 2012, however, UEFA announced that the 2020 tournament would be hosted in several cities in various countries across Europe, with the semi-finals and final being played in London.[74][75] The venues were selected and announced by UEFA on 19 September 2014.[76] However,Brussels was removed as a host city on 7 December 2017 due to delays with the building of theEurostadium.[77] On 17 March 2020, UEFA announced that Euro 2020 would be delayed by a year due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Europe, and proposed it take place from 11 June to 11 July 2021. The competition was postponed in order to reduce pressure on the public services in affected countries and to provide space in the calendar for the completion of domestic leagues that had been suspended.[78] Before the Euro 2020,Dublin was also removed as one of the host cities due to its inability to guarantee spectators to the stadium, whileBilbao was replaced bySeville for the same reason.[79][80] In thefinal, Italy defeated maiden finalists England 3–2 on penalties, after the game was tied 1–1 after extra time, to win their second European Championship.[81]
The2024 tournament returned to its usual four-year cycle after the 2020 edition was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic. Germany would beat Turkey for tournament hosting rights, marking the third time it would take place on German territory.[82] Spain went on to win the tournament for a record fourth time after defeating England 2–1 in thefinal.[83]
The Henri Delaunay Trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the European Championship,[84] is named in honour ofHenri Delaunay, the first General Secretary of UEFA, who came up with the idea of a European championship but died five years before the first tournament in 1960. His sonPierre was in charge of creating the trophy.[85] Since the first tournament it has been awarded to the winning team for them to keep for four years, until the next tournament. This trophy bore the wordsCoupe d'Europe ("European Cup"),Coupe Henri Delaunay ("Henri Delaunay Cup"), andChampionnat d'Europe ("European Championship") on the front and a juggling boy on the back.
For the2008 tournament, the Henri Delaunay Trophy was remodelled to make it larger, as the old trophy was overshadowed by UEFA's other trophies such as the newEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup. The new trophy, which is made of sterling silver, now weighs 8 kilograms (18 lb) and is 60 centimetres (24 in) tall, being 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) heavier and 18 centimetres (7.1 in) longer than the old one. The marble plinth that was serving as base was removed. The new silver base of the trophy had to be enlarged to make it stable. The names of the winning countries that had appeared on the plaques glued to the plinth are now engraved on the back of the trophy,[86] under the wordCoupe Henri Delaunay and are written in English rather than French its predecessor had. Since 2016, the juggling boy was returned on the trophy's back.
The players and coaches of the winning team and the runner-up team are awarded gold and silver medals, respectively. Each association that competes in the final tournament receives a commemorative plaque. Each time the team losing semi-finalist, as well as each finalist, receive a dedicated plaque. Though there is no longer athird place play-off, UEFA decided in the 2008 edition to award the semi-final losers (Turkey and Russia) bronze medals for the first time,[87] and did the same in the 2012 edition when Germany and Portugal received bronze medals.[88] However, UEFA decided that losing semi-finalists would no longer receive medals from the 2016 edition onwards.[89] Bronze medals were previously awarded for winners of the third place play-off, the last of which was held in 1980.[90]
Before 1980, only four teams qualified for the final tournament. From 1980, eight teams competed. In 1996 the tournament expanded to 16 teams, since it was easier for European nations to qualify for theWorld Cup than their own continental championship; 14 of the 24 teams at the1982,1986 and1990 World Cups had been European, whereas the European Championship finals still involved only eight teams.
In 2007, there was much discussion about an expansion of the tournament to 24 teams, started byScotland and theRepublic of Ireland, due to the increased number of football associations in Europe after the break-ups ofCzechoslovakia,Yugoslavia and theSoviet Union, and the inclusion ofIsrael andKazakhstan. The new president ofUEFA,Michel Platini, was reported to be in favour of expansion which proved an accurate assumption. Whilst on 17 April 2007, UEFA's executive committee formally decided against expansion in 2012, Platini indicated in June 2008 that UEFA will increase participation from 16 to 24 teams in future tournaments, starting from 2016.[91] On 25 September, it was announced byFranz Beckenbauer that an agreement had been reached, and the expansion to 24 teams would be officially announced the next day.[92]
The competing teams are chosen by a series of qualifying games: in1960 and1964 through home and awayplay-offs; from1968 through a combination of bothqualifying groups and play-off games. The host country was selected from the four finalists after they were determined through qualifying.
Since the expansion of the final tournament starting from1980, the host country, or countries, have been chosen beforehand and qualify automatically.
In most tournaments, the tournament consists of around-robin group stage followed by asingle-elimination knockout stage.
To qualify, a team must finish in one of the direct qualifying spots or win a play-off. After this, a team proceeds to the finals round in the host country, although hosts qualify for the tournament automatically.
The groups for qualification are drawn by a UEFA committee usingseeding. Seeded teams include reigning champions and other teams based on their performance in the preceding FIFA World Cup qualifying and the last European Championship qualifying. To obtain an accurate view of the teams' abilities, a ranking is produced. This is calculated by taking the total number of points won by a particular team and dividing it by the number of games played, i.e. points per game. In the case of a team having hosted one of the two previous competitions and therefore having qualified automatically, only the results from the single most recent qualifying competition are used. If two teams have equal points per game, the committee then bases their positions in the rankings on:
Coefficient from the matches played in its most recent qualifying competition.
Average goal difference.
Average number of goals scored.
Average number of away goals scored.
Drawing of lots.
The qualifying phase is played in a group format, the composition of the groups is determined through means of a draw of teams from pre-defined seeded bowls. The draw takes place after the preceding World Cup's qualifying competition. ForUEFA Euro 2020, the group qualifying phase consisted of ten groups; five of six teams and the remainder of five teams each.
Each group is played in a league format with teams playing each other home and away. The top two teams then qualified for the final tournament, with remaining places decided by playoffs depending on their ranking in theUEFA Nations League. As with most leagues,the points are awarded as three for a win, one for a draw, and none for a loss. In the eventuality of one or more teams having equal points after all matches have been played, the following criteria are used to distinguish the sides:
Higher number of points obtained in the group matches played among the teams in question.
Superior goal difference from the group matches played among the teams in question.
Higher number of goals scored in the group matches played among the teams in question.
Higher number of goals scored away from home in the group matches played among the teams in question.
Sixteen teams progressed to the final tournament for the2012 tournament. They were joint hostsPoland andUkraine, the winners and the highest ranked second-placed team from the nine qualifying groups as well as the winners of four play-off matches between the runners-up of the other groups. These sixteen teams were divided equally into four groups, A, B, C and D, each consisting of four teams. The groups were drawn up by the UEFA administration, again using seeding. The seeded teams being the host nations, the reigning champions, should they qualify, and those with the best points per game coefficients over the qualifying phase of the tournament and the previousWorld Cup qualifying. Other finalists were assigned to by means of a draw, usingcoefficients as a basis.
For the 2016 tournament, the expansion to 24 teams means that the teams will be drawn into six groups of four, with the six group winners, six group runners-up and the four best third-placed teams advancing to the round of 16 when it becomes a knockout competition.[89]
The groups are again played in a league format, where a team plays its opponents once each. The same points system is used (three points for a win, one point for a draw, no points for a defeat). A schedule for the group matches will be drawn up, but the last two matches in a group must kick off simultaneously. The winner and runner-up of each group progress to the next round, where a knockout system is used (the two teams play each other once, the winner progresses), this is used in all subsequent rounds as well. The winners of the quarter-finals matches progress to the semi-finals, where the winners play in the final. If in any of the knockout rounds, the scores are still equal after normal playing time, extra time andpenalties are employed to separate the two teams. Unlike theFIFA World Cup, this tournament no longer has athird place playoff.
^No third place play-off has been played since 1980; losing semi-finalists are listed in alphabetical order.
^At theEuro 2008, UEFA awarded bronze medals to the losing semi-finalists, Russia and Turkey, for the first time. Four years later, atEuro 2012, Germany and Portugal also received this recognition after their semi-final exits. Since 2016, UEFA no longer awards bronze medals to the losing semi-finalists.[93]
There are currently five post-tournament awards, and one given during the tournament:[96]
Player of the Tournament award for the best player, first awarded in1996.[97][98]
Top Scorer award (currently namedAlipay Top Scorer award for sponsorship reasons) for the most prolific goal scorer.[99][100]
Young Player of the Tournament (currently namedSOCAR Young Player of the Tournament for sponsorship reasons) for the best player under the age of 21, first awarded in2016.[101][102]
Man of the Match award for outstanding performance during each game of the tournament, first awarded in 1996.
Team of the Tournament award for the best combined team of players in the tournament.
^"Van Basten's volley".UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 20 December 2011. Archived fromthe original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved24 February 2012.
^"EURO expands to 24".UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 26 September 2008. Archived fromthe original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved23 February 2014.
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