European Football Championships: to defend the title. European football championships How many European football champions

(Eng. UEFA European Championship) - the main competition of national teams, held under the auspices of UEFA. The competition has been held every 4 years since 1960.

For the first time, the idea of ​​holding a tournament for European national teams was put forward by the former Secretary General of the French Football Federation, Henri Delaunay, at one of the meetings of the International Football Federation (FIFA). But the idea did not find support due to the presence of problems in the organization of the world championships and the absence of a European regional federation.

The turning point in the history of the creation of the European Championship occurred on May 27, 1952. At a meeting in Zurich, the leaders of the football federations of France, Italy and Belgium discussed the creation of the European Football Union. A year later, in Paris, at a meeting of 20 representatives of football federations, a committee was formed to prepare the founding conference of the European Football Union, which took place on June 15, 1954 in Basel. It was attended by representatives of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Great Britain, Hungary, East Germany, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Northern Ireland, the USSR, Finland, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, Sweden and Yugoslavia. At this council, a decision was made to create the European Union of Football Associations (UEFA). Ebbe Schwarz, chairman of the Danish Football Association, became the first president of UEFA.

At a meeting of the UEFA executive committee on March 27, 1957 in Cologne, a project called the "European Cup of Nations" was put forward. On June 6, 1958, the draw for the first round of the Cup took place in the Travelers' Club of the Forest Hotel in Stockholm.

In 2016, the European Championship, which will be played from June 10 to July 10, will be held in France for a record third time. Before that, only Belgium and Italy took the final stage of the European championship more than once. The fifteenth European Championship will be the first tournament in the final stage of which 24 teams will play. 53 teams will play in the qualifying stage. Matches of the final stage of Euro 2016 will be held at 10 stadiums: in Bordeaux, Lance, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse.

Tournament Format

The qualifying round begins after the end of the World Championship and lasts two years until the final part of the European Championship. Groups are formed by drawing lots by the UEFA committee, using the seeding of the teams. Seeding is done on the basis of the qualifying round for the World Championship and the previous European Championship.

53 teams will play in Euro 2016 qualification, which is a tournament record. They will be divided into groups of five or six teams that will play each other in a match home and away. The nine group winners, nine runners-up and the best third-place finisher will advance directly to the finals. Eight other third-place winners will decide the fate of the remaining four spots in the play-offs.

The participants of the final tournament will be divided into groups of four teams; six winners, six teams that took second places, and four best teams that finished third will advance to the 1/8 finals.
Cup

The main symbol of the European Championship is the Henri Delaunay Cup. The original Cup was created in 1960 by Arthu Bertrand and named after the former president of the French Football Federation, Henri Delaunay, who served as the first general secretary of UEFA since the creation of the union. The goblet was a stylized silver amphora with a bas-relief depicting a young man playing ball.

For the European Championship 2008, a new cup was created. Pierre Delaunay, son of Henri Delaunay, was responsible for creating the new prize. The weight of the cup is eight kilograms, and its height is 60 centimeters. It is 18 centimeters taller and two kilograms heavier than the original.

The trophy is almost identical to the original Henri Delaunay Cup, but there are a number of differences. For example, the silver base has undergone changes, becoming larger in order to make the cup more stable. The names of the winners of the European Championships, which were previously inscribed on the plinth, are now on the back of the trophy. The original was made by Chobillon goldsmith and later bought by Jan Arthus-Bertrand in Paris, while the new goblet was made by Asprey London.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The European Football Championship has been held under the auspices of UEFA every four years since 1960. Initially, the tournament was called the European Nations Cup (European Cup), and in 1968 the name was changed to the European Football Championship.

The history of the performance of the USSR / Russia team in the final tournaments of the European Championships began with the very first draw in 1960. The debut European Cup ended with the victory of the USSR team. Three times the Soviet team became vice-champion of Europe - in 1964, 1972 and 1988. In 1980 and 1984, the USSR national team failed to qualify for the final stage of the competition.

At the 1992 European Championship, the USSR national team played under the flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States (by that time the Soviet Union had already ceased to exist).

In recent history, the Russian team has qualified for the finals four times - in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012. In 2008, the Russian team won the bronze medals of the European Championship.

1960 European Cup (France)

In the first draw of the European Cup, the Soviet team entered the rank of champion of the Melbourne Olympic Games (1956). The tournament path to victory included an uncompromising rivalry with the teams of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, a boycott of the Spanish government, and ended with a tense final match against the most principled opponent at that time - Yugoslavia.

During the final match, the Soviet team led by Gavriil Kachalin was inferior to the Yugoslavs, but still pulled out a victory in extra time with a score of 2:1. The decisive goal seven minutes before the end was scored by 23-year-old Victor Monday.

1964 European Cup (Spain)

On the way to the European Cup final, the USSR national team, led by Konstantin Beskov, broke the resistance of the Italians, Swedes and Danes. In the final of the tournament, the USSR team met with the Spanish team. Four years earlier, the Franco government had banned the Spanish national team from playing against the USSR, but this time politics gave way to football. The decisive match of the tournament, held at the stadium "Santiago Bernabeu" in Madrid and gathered more than 120 thousand spectators, ended with a minimal advantage in favor of Spain (2:1).

1968 European Championship (Italy)

The format of the competition has undergone changes, for the first time a qualifying tournament was held, according to the results of which the participants in the playoffs were determined. At the qualifying stage, the USSR national team was ahead of Austria, Greece and Finland and reached the quarterfinals, in which they beat Hungary. In the goalless semi-final confrontation between the Soviet team and Italy, the strongest was determined by a simple lot with the help of a coin (a penalty shoot-out had not yet been used at that time). Fortune smiled at the hosts of the decisive part of the championship and did not allow the USSR national team to play in the final for the third time in a row. In the match for third place, the team of Mikhail Yakushin lost to the team of England (0:2).

1972 European Championship (Belgium)

In the qualifying tournament, the USSR national team took first place in the group with Spain, Northern Ireland and Cyprus and advanced to the playoffs of the competition.

In the quarter-finals, the team of Alexander Ponomarev confidently defeated Yugoslavia, in the semi-finals they defeated Hungary with a minimum score. However, in the decisive match of the European Championship, Soviet football players lost to the German team with a score of 0:3.

1976 European Championship (Yugoslavia)

In the qualifying round, the USSR national team successfully opposed Ireland, Turkey and Switzerland and took first place. In the quarter-finals, Soviet footballers led by Valery Lobanovsky lost to Czechoslovakia after two meetings.

1980 European Championship (Italy)

The USSR national team, led by Konstantin Beskov, participated in the qualifying tournament together with Hungary, Greece and Finland and could not qualify

1984 European Championship (France)

Valery Lobanovsky's wards took second place in the qualifying group along with Portugal, Poland and Finland and failed to qualify for the decisive stage of the competition.

European Championship 1988 (FRG)

In the qualifying tournament for Euro-88 in the group with France, East Germany, Norway and Iceland, the USSR team took first place.

In the final tournament, Lobanovsky's team confidently won the group stage, and left no chance for the Italians in the semi-finals. In the final of the tournament, the USSR national team lost to Holland with a score of 0:2.

1992 European Championship (Sweden)

The USSR national team, which was received by Anatoly Byshovets, the victor of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, qualified for the finals through a qualifying tournament in which they met with the teams of Italy, Norway, Hungary and Cyprus. In the decisive stage of the competition, the team was already performing under the flag of the Commonwealth of Independent States, by that time the Soviet Union had already ceased to exist. According to the results of the group stage of the final tournament, the CIS team took fourth place, letting Scotland, Germany and Holland pass ahead of them, and could not reach the playoffs.

1996 European Championship (England)

In 1996, the Russian national team for the first time in history took part in the continental championship. The rivals of our team in the group in the qualifying round were the teams of Scotland, Greece, Finland, the Faroe Islands and San Marino. During the qualifying games, our team took first place in the group.

In the final stage of the tournament, the teams of Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic became the rivals of the Russian team. Having scored only one point during the group stage of the tournament, the Russian team, led by Oleg Romantsev, which meant the end of the fight for the championship medals.

European Championship 2000 (Belgium, Netherlands)

The qualifying tournament for Euro 2000, in which France, Ukraine, Iceland, Armenia and Andorra became our rivals, was dramatic for the Russian team. After three defeats at the start of the qualification, Oleg Romantsev replaced Anatoly Byshovets as the head of the coaching staff. Our team won six victories in a row, including on the road over the current world champions of the French. However, for the first place in the group, a home victory over Ukraine in the final match was not enough: the guests answered the goal of Valery Karpin with an accurate shot by Andriy Shevchenko.

European Championship 2004 (Portugal)

In the group stage of the qualifying tournament of the European Championship, the teams of Switzerland, Georgia, Ireland and Albania became the rivals of the Russian team. Before the decisive autumn games, Valery Gazzaev left the post of national team coach, he was replaced by Georgy Yartsev. With 14 points, the Russian players took second place in the group. In the play-offs, the Russian team met with the Wales team. The first match between the teams in Moscow ended in a goalless draw. In the second match, our players managed to win with a score of 0:1 and got a ticket to the final part of the European Championship.

At the group stage of the final part of the tournament, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Spain, Portugal and Greece. Having scored three points, the Russian team took fourth place in their group and finished the fight for championship medals.

European Championship 2008 (Austria, Switzerland)

In the group stage of the qualifying round of the European Championship, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Croatia, England, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra. The Russian team finished the qualifying round of the 2008 European Championship in 2nd place in their group, gaining 24 points.

Second place gave the Russian team, led by the Dutchman Guus Hiddink, the right to directly qualify for the finals of the championship. At the group stage of the final part of the tournament, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Spain, Sweden and Greece. Having scored six points, our team took the second place in the group and advanced to the playoffs of the tournament. In the 1/4 finals, the Russian team defeated Holland in extra time - 3:1. In the semi-finals, the Spaniards became the rivals of the Russian football players, the meeting ended in their favor - with a score of 3:0. Thus, the Russian team won the bronze medals of the European football championship.

European Championship 2012 (Ukraine, Poland)

In the group stage of the qualifying round of the European Championship, the rivals of the Russian team were the teams of Ireland, Armenia, Slovakia, Macedonia and Andorra. Having scored 23 points, the Russian team took first place in the group and qualified for the final part of the championship. At the group stage of the final part of the tournament, the rivals of the team of Dick Advocaat were the teams of the Czech Republic, Greece and Poland. Having scored 4 points, the Russian team took third place in the group and left the European championship.

Prepared on the basis of materials from open sources

Since 1960, 14 tournaments have been held. They were hosted by 14 countries (Italy, France and Belgium - twice), and nine teams became champions (Germany and Spain - three times, France - twice). The very first honorary trophy was won by the USSR national team.

1960

Members: 17
France
Champion: USSR

European football championships have been held since 1960, although the idea of ​​their organization was expressed long before the birth of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), which was established 15 June 1954 in Basel. .

The first European Championship was unofficial and was called the European Nations Cup. Teams of 13 countries, including England, Germany, Italy, Holland, refused to participate in it. The qualifying tournament began in the fall of 1958 and was held according to the Olympic system.

The USSR national team beat Hungary twice in the 1/8 finals (3:1 in Moscow, 1:0 in Budapest) and ended up in the quarterfinals against the Spaniards, who for political reasons refused to go to the USSR. As a result, the Soviet team reached the final stage without a fight, which was held in France according to the Final Four formula.

In the semi-final in Marseille, the USSR national team under the leadership of Gavriil Kachalin defeated the team of Czechoslovakia - 3: 0 (Valentin Ivanov scored a double, Viktor Ponedelnik scored another goal). Her rivals were the Yugoslavs, who defeated the French in Paris - 5:4.

July 9 in Marseille in the match for third place Czechoslovakia defeated France - 2:0, and the next day in Paris at the stadium Park de Princes hosted the final. Yugoslav striker Milan Galich opened the scoring two minutes before the break, but in the 49th minute Slava Metreveli equalized, and in extra time, in the 113th minute, Viktor Monday scored the winning goal in a head jump after a pass by Mikhail Meskhi. Thus, the USSR national team, having played only four matches, won the tournament.

1964

Members: 29
Final organizer: Spain
Champion: Spain

The tournament was held according to the same formula. The USSR national team entered the fight from the 1/8 finals, where the Italian team was its rival (2:0 in Moscow, 1:1 in Rome). In the quarterfinals, the Swedes were passed, who defeated the Yugoslavs earlier in the round. On the road, the Soviet team again achieved a draw 1:1, and won at home - 3:1.

The national team of Luxembourg became a sensation of the championship, which in the 1/8 finals defeated the team of the Netherlands - 1:1, 2:1, and then almost passed the Danes, to whom they lost only in an additional match - 0:1.

Four teams got into the final part - the USSR, Spain, Hungary and Denmark, and only the Soviet team succeeded for the second time in a row. In the semi-final in Barcelona, ​​she defeated the Danes - 3:0 (goals were scored by Valery Voronin, Viktor Monday and Valentin Ivanov), while in Madrid the Spaniards needed overtime to defeat the Hungarians (2:1).

In the match for third place, the Hungarians beat the Danes in Barcelona - 3:1, and the next day, June 21, the final match took place in Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. The hosts (Jesus Maria Pereda) opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but two minutes later Galimzyan Khusainov equalized the score. Still, the Spaniards had the last word: in the 84th minute, the decisive goal was scored by Marcelino Martinez.

Despite the quite worthy final result, the defeat from the Francoist Spain team aroused indignation among the then leadership of the USSR, and the head coach of the USSR national team Konstantin Beskov, who was supposed to prepare the team for the 1966 World Cup in England, was removed from his post.

1968

Members: 31
Final organizer: Italy
Champion: Italy

The pre-stage formula has changed. First there were seven groups of four teams each plus one group of three teams. The winners of the groups formed pairs of quarter-finalists who sorted out the relationship between themselves at home and away. The four strongest teams got into the final tournament, which was held in Italy.

The USSR national team ended up in the third group along with the teams of Greece, Austria and Finland, won five out of six matches with a single away defeat from the Austrians, scored 10 points (goal difference - 16:6) and confidently took first place.

The quarter-final against the Hungarians was not easy, but after the away defeat - 0:2 - the Soviet team under the leadership of Mikhail Yakushin managed to take a convincing revenge at home - 3:0. But in the final tournament, the USSR national team could not score a single goal. First, in the semi-finals in Naples, she tied with the Italians - 0:0, and as a result, the third place was followed by a defeat from the British - 0:2. The Italians became the champions of Europe, who needed two whole matches with the Yugoslavs for this. The first - on June 8 - ended in a draw - 1:1, and only two days later, thanks to the goals of Luigi Riva and Pietro Anastasia, the hosts managed to get the better of their opponent, who for the second time stopped a step away from gold medals.

1972

Members: 32
Final organizer: Belgium
Champion: Germany

The rules of the group stage have not undergone any changes, but in the playoffs the drawing of lots has been cancelled. Thus, with absolute equality of indicators, a penalty shoot-out was assigned.

The USSR national team got into the fourth group along with the teams of Spain, Northern Ireland and Cyprus. At home, she won all three matches, and away she drew twice and, having scored 10 points, took first place. In the quarterfinals, the Yugoslavs became the rivals of the Soviet team. In Belgrade, a draw was recorded - 0:0, and in Moscow - the victory of the hosts - 3:0.

The final tournament was held in Belgium. In the semifinals, the Soviet team, thanks to Viktor Kolotov's goal, defeated the Hungarians - 1:0, and the German national team, which then included Gerd Muller, beat the Belgians - 2:1. The match for third place Belgium-Hungary ended in victory for the hosts - 2:1, but in the final in Brussels at the Heysel stadium, the West Germans outright outplayed the Soviet team, which, having been defeated - 0:3, earned European silver for the second time.

1976

Members: 32
Final organizer: Yugoslavia
Champion: Czechoslovakia

It was the last European Championship, the final part of which was held according to the old formula with the participation of four teams. And the first, in which the USSR national team did not break into the top four.

The problems of the Soviet team, which got into the sixth group along with the Irish, Turks and Swiss, began immediately: in the first match away, it lost to the Irish team - 0:3. However, in the end, having won four victories and two defeats, she took first place with eight points and advanced to the quarterfinals. And this is where the main failure occurred. The line-up, which was based on the players of Dynamo Kyiv, which won the Cup Winners' Cup and the Super Cup in 1975, first lost to the Czechs in Prague - 0:2, and then could not take revenge on them in Kyiv - 2:2.

In both cases, additional time was needed to determine the finalists. First, in Zagreb, the Czechs defeated the Dutch - 3:1, and then in Belgrade, the German team beat the Yugoslavs - 4:2. In the match for third place, Holland, again in extra time, beat Yugoslavia - 3:2, and the final turned out to be very interesting. By the 25th minute, the Czechs were leading - 2:0, but at the very end of the game the Germans equalized - 2:2, and for the first time a penalty shoot-out was needed to determine the champion. It was more precisely fulfilled by the national team of Czechoslovakia - 5:3.

1980

Members: 32
Final organizer: Italy
Champion: Germany

The number of teams in the final part doubled. The winners of the groups went there, plus the Italian team as the hostess of the tournament. In this eight, however, there was no USSR team, which took last place in the sixth qualifying group, skipping ahead of Greece, Hungary and Finland. The struggle in this quartet, however, was stubborn: the winners, the Greeks, scored seven points and outstripped the Soviet team by only two points. But the last match of our team - in Moscow against the Finns - 2:2 - did not decide anything, and only 1500 people attended it.

Italy became the first country to be re-entrusted with hosting the final part of the European football championship. The top eight was split into two fours. In Group A, Germany and Czechoslovakia were ahead of the Netherlands and Greece, and in Group B, Belgium and Italy were ahead of England and Spain in the final standings. In the match for third place, the teams that took second place in the groups met, and the Czechs, having finished with the Italians in a regular time draw - 1:1, turned out to be more successful than their rivals in the penalty shootout.

In the final, the German team defeated the Belgians. Both goals for the winners were scored by Horst Hrubesch. Thus, the German team became the first two-time European champion.

1984

Members: 33
Final organizer: France
Champion: France

The USSR national team was again not in the final eight. She got into the second qualifying group along with Portugal, Poland and Finland and was in the lead until the very last match in Lisbon. A draw was enough for the guests, but in the 44th minute the hosts scored a goal from the penalty spot and managed to keep the score they needed until the end. As a result, Portugal scored 10 points, while the USSR, which played a 1-1 away draw with the Poles, had 9 points left.

The final tournament turned into a benefit performance for the excellent French team led by Michel Hidalgo. At the preliminary stage, the hosts in group A defeated Denmark - 1:0, Belgium - 5:0 and Yugoslavia - 3:2, while in group B the struggle was more stubborn, and Spain and Portugal reached the semi-finals, which turned out to be stronger than Germany and Romania. In the semi-finals, the French, thanks to Michel Platini's goal scored in overtime, defeated the Portuguese - 3:2. In the confrontation between the Spaniards and the Danes, who looked very good at that tournament, after a draw in regular and extra time (1:1), they had to resort to a penalty shootout, which was more accurately executed by the Spanish team - 5:4.

The match for third place at the European Championship was not held for the first time, and in the final, France at the Park de Princes stadium absolutely deservedly defeated Spain - 2:0. Michel Platini opened the scoring in the 57th minute, having scored two hat-tricks in five matches and became the top scorer of the final tournament (nine goals), and in the 90th minute Bruno Bellon set the winning point.

1988

Members: 33
Final organizer: Germany
Champion: Netherlands

One of the best European championships for our team. In the qualifying third group, under the leadership of Valery Lobanovsky, with 13 points, she was ahead of the GDR, the current European champion, France (the Soviet team first won on the road - 2: 0, and the match in Moscow ended in a draw - 1: 1), Iceland and Norway.

The final tournament was held from 10 to 25 June. In group A, Germany and Italy scored 5 points each, ahead of Spain - 2 points and Denmark - 0. In group B, the Soviet team first defeated the Netherlands - 1: 0 (Vasily Rats scored a goal), then tied with Ireland - 1: 1 ( Oleg Protasov) and won against England - 3:1 (Sergei Aleinikov, Alexei Mikhailichenko, Victor Pasulko). As a result, the USSR team scored 5 points, the Netherlands - 4, Ireland - 3, England - 0.

The semi-finals confirmed the advantage of the teams from group B. The Netherlands team in Hamburg defeated the German national team - 2:1, and the Soviet football players in Stuttgart very confidently played the match with the Italians - 2:0 (Gennady Litovchenko, Oleg Protasov). The final took place at the Olympiastadion in Munich and ended with the victory of the Dutch - 2:0. Rudd Gullit opened the scoring in the 34th minute, in the 54th minute Marco van Basten scored a goal against Rinat Dasaev, which is considered one of the most beautiful in the history of major football tournaments, and then Igor Belanov did not convert a penalty.

The symbolic team of 20 people included five representatives of the USSR national team - goalkeeper Rinat Dasaev, defenders Vagiz Khidiyatullin and Oleg Kuznetsov, midfielder Alexei Mikhailichenko and forward Oleg Protasov.

1992

Members: 35
Final organizer: Sweden
Champion: Denmark

The most sensational European Championship in history ended with the victory of a team that should not have played in the finals at all. The decision about the Danish performance in Sweden was made only a few days before the start of the tournament, since the Yugoslav team, which won the fourth qualifying group, was excluded from the list for political reasons. At the same time, the Danes, led by Rikard Meller-Nielsen, did not include Barcelona midfielder Mikael Laudrup.

For victories in the qualifying tournament for the last time at the European Championships, 2 points were given. The opponents of the USSR national team in the third group were the teams of Italy, Norway, Hungary and Cyprus. She won five matches with three draws and reached the final eight with 13 points.

The team led by Anatoly Byshovets arrived in Sweden as a CIS national team, but performed unsuccessfully there: they tied with the Germans - 1:1, who equalized the score at the very end of the game, and the Dutch - 0:0, after which they suffered an unexpected crushing defeat from the Scots - 0:3 and finished last in Group B behind the Netherlands (5 points), Germany (3) and Scotland (2). In Group A, teams from which little was expected - Sweden (5) and Denmark (3) - were ahead of the favorites, France (2) and England (2).

In the semi-finals, the Germans defeated the Swedes - 3:2, while Denmark and Holland did not reveal the winner - 2:2, as a result of which a penalty shoot-out was appointed. The only mistake made by the famous Marco van Basten, and the Danes, having won 5:4, ended up in the final, where outright - 2:0 - outplayed the Germans. The goals in Gothenburg at the Ullevi Stadium were scored by Jon Jensen and Kim Wilfort.

1996

Members: 48
Final organizer: England
Champion: Germany

There were many firsts at this championship. For example, it was on it that the Russian team debuted in the European championships, the number of participating teams reached 48, 16 teams played in the finals, and as a result of using the golden goal rule, the first three-time European champion was born - the German team.

Due to the increase in the number of teams participating in the tournament, its formula has been changed. At the preliminary stage, eight groups were formed (seven out of six teams and one out of five). The winners and six of the top eight runners-up qualified directly to the finals. The two remaining teams from the runners-up played for a trip to England in matches with each other. The host team of the tournament was released from the selection.

The Russian national team under the leadership of Oleg Romantsev got into the eighth group, scored 26 points, scored eight wins with two draws, and took first place, ahead of Scotland, Greece, Finland, the Faroe Islands and San Marino. But in the final part, she failed, although, as it turned out later, she got into the strongest group C, where both future finalists performed. Having lost to the Italians in Liverpool - 1:2 (Ilya Tsymbalar scored a goal), the Russian team then lost to the Germans even more significantly - 0:3, after which again in Liverpool they tied with the Czechs - 3:3 (Alexander Mostovoy, Omari Tetradze, Vladimir Beschastnykh ).

In the quarter-finals, Germany defeated Croatia - 2:1, the Czech Republic - Portugal - 1:0, and the main and extra time in the other two matches ended in a goalless draw, and a penalty shoot-out was made. Thus, England beat Spain - 4:2, and France - the Netherlands - 5:4.

In the semi-finals also had to resort to a series of penalties: Germany-England 1:1 (6:5), Czech Republic-France 0:0 (6:5). The losers opened the scoring in the final. This was done by the Czech Patrick Berger in the 59th minute from the penalty spot. However, Oliver Bierhoff's double allowed the team of Berti Vogts to celebrate the triumph. In the 74th minute, he equalized the score, and in the 95th minute he scored a golden goal.

2000

Members: 51
Final organizer: Netherlands and Belgium
Champion: France

One of the brightest dramas in the history of national football is connected with the qualifying tournament for Euro 2000. At the qualifying stage, the Russian team got into the fourth group along with the French world champions, as well as Ukraine, Iceland, Armenia and Andorra. The beginning of the tournament was shocking: the team led by Anatoly Byshovets suffered three defeats in a row - from Ukraine, France and Iceland. However, after the return of head coach Oleg Romantsev to the national team, things improved, and thanks to the historic victory at the Stad de France over the French with a score of 3: 2 (two goals were scored by Alexander Panov and another by Valery Karpin), the Russians improved their standings. Before the last round, it was only necessary to defeat Ukraine in Luzhniki, and when Valery Karpin opened the scoring in the 75th minute, it seemed that this task had been solved. However, in the 87th minute, after Andrey Shevchenko's free-kick, a fatal mistake was made by Russian goalkeeper Alexander Filimonov. As a result - a draw, France directly got to the final part, and Ukraine, which took second place, lost to the Slovenians in the play-offs.

In the final tournament, the Dutch looked very confident, who beat the French in Group D, beating the Czech Republic and Denmark in addition to them. In the quarterfinals, Portugal defeated Turkey - 2:0), France - Spain - 2:1, the Netherlands - Yugoslavia - 6:1, Italy - Romania - 2:0. In the semi-finals, the French dealt with the Portuguese in extra time - 2:1, but the Italians built an impenetrable defense in front of the Dutch, who, failing to score a single goal, broke the penalty shootout extremely unsuccessfully - 1:3. In the final on July 2 in Rotterdam, France defeated Italy after extra time. This was another drama. Italy, thanks to a goal by Marco Delvecchio, opened the scoring in the 55th minute, but Silvan Wiltor equalized it in the third added minute, and David Trezeguet scored the golden goal in the 103rd minute.

2004

Members: 51
Final organizer: Portugal
Champion: Greece

The Russian national team began the qualifying tournament under the leadership of Valery Gazzaev, who was replaced along the way by Georgy Yartsev. This happened due to the fact that things in the tenth group, which also included Switzerland, Ireland, Albania and Georgia, our team initially went with a big scratch. She suffered guest defeats from Albanians - 1:3 and Georgians - 0:1.

However, in the end, the Russians managed to score 14 points and take second place after the Swiss (15), and in the play-offs they defeated Wales (the only goal in two meetings - on the road - was scored by Vadim Evseev).

In the final tournament, our team got into group A and performed unsuccessfully. After defeats from Spain (0:1) and Portugal (0:2), a victory over the Greeks (2:1, goals were scored by Dmitry Kirichenko and Dmitry Bulykin) followed, but it no longer had a tournament value for the Russians.

The play-off ended with a sensation. In the quarterfinals, Portugal beat England 2:2 (6:5) on penalties, and the Netherlands beat Sweden 0:0 (5:4). In addition, Greece beat France - 1:0, and the Czech Republic - Denmark - 3:0. In the semi-finals, the Portuguese defeated the Dutch - 2:1, while the Greeks defeated the Czechs - 1:0 in extra time. In the final in Lisbon, on the Estadio da Luz, the Portuguese could not do anything with the Greeks, who scored Angelos Charisteas in the 57th minute. The main merit in the success of the Greek national team, according to many experts, belonged to the German coach Otto Rehhagel.

2008

Members: 52
Final organizer: Austria and Switzerland
Champion: Spain

The Russian national team, which got into the qualifying stage in group E with Croatia, England, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra, for the first time performed under the guidance of a foreign coach - the Dutchman Guus Hiddink. As a result, she managed to score 24 points with seven wins, three draws and two losses and take second place behind the Croats. This happened thanks not only to a home victory over the British (2:1), but also to the sensational defeat of the founders of football from the Croats (2:3) in the last round.

In the final tournament, the Russian team ended up in Group D, where they were joined by Spain, Sweden and Greece. After a discouraging defeat from the Spaniards - 1:4 (a goal scored by Roman Pavlyuchenko), Guus Hiddink's wards defeated Greece - 1:0 (Konstantin Zyryanov) and Sweden - 2:0 (Roman Pavlyuchenko, Andrey Arshavin), and in the quarterfinals effectively sorted out in overtime with the Netherlands - 3:1 (Roman Pavlyuchenko, Dmitry Torbinsky, Andrey Arshavin). In other quarter-finals, Germany beat Portugal - 3:2, Turkey - Croatia - 1:1 (3:1), and Spain - Italy - 0:0 (4:2). The semi-finals with the Spaniards were unsuccessful for the Russians, losing - 0:3, and the Germans won against the Turks - 3:2. In the final on June 28 at the Vienna Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Spain, thanks to a goal scored by Fernando Torres, scored in the 33rd minute, took over Germany - 1:0.

2012

Members: 53
Final organizer: Ukraine and Poland
Champion: Spain

The Russian national team was headed by another well-known Dutchman - Dick Advocaat, who quite confidently coped with the task of taking the team to the final tournament. At the qualifying stage, the Russians ended up in Group B, where they scored 23 points in ten matches (seven wins, two draws, one loss) and took first place, ahead of Ireland, Armenia, Slovakia, Macedonia and Andorra.

In the final tournament, the Russian team got into group A, and its rivals were the Czech Republic, Greece and Poland. Having beaten the Czechs - 4:1 (Alan Dzagoev - twice, Roman Shirokov, Roman Pavlyuchenko), our team then tied with the Poles - 1:1 (Alan Dzagoev) and took first place before the third round, but then lost to the Greeks - 0:1 and lost the chance to continue the struggle.

In the quarterfinals, Portugal beat the Czech Republic - 1:0, Spain - France - 2:0, Germany - Greece - 4:2, Italy - England - 0:0 (4:2). In the semi-finals, Spain passed Portugal - 0:0 (4:2), and Italy - Germany (2:1).

The decisive match at the Olympic stadium in Kyiv Spain-Italy ended with the biggest score in the history of the European Championship finals. The Spaniards won - 4:0. The winner was the first goal scored by David Silva, and besides him, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata scored. The Spanish national team became a three-time European champion and the first team that was able to defend this title.

Already the first attempt of the USSR national team to become the best on the continent twice in a row, almost succeeded. The Soviet team successfully passed the selection, played out according to the playoff system, confidently beating Italy (3:1) and Sweden (4:2) on aggregate without losing a single match.

No less confidently our team started the final part - a crushing victory 3:0 over the Hungarian team. But in the final, having exchanged goals in the debut of the meeting with the hosts - the Spaniards, the USSR national team missed the decisive goal in the 84th minute.

However, few people could win that match at the Santiago Bernabeu in the presence of 80 thousand spectators, including Francisco Franco. The leaders of the Soviet state decided that ours had lost to the Nazis, as a result of which Konstantin Ivanovich Beskov was fired from the post of national team coach.

These are the times in our football, when the second place on the continent could be regarded as a failure.

Euro 1968

• Current champion: Spain.

But the Spanish team failed to qualify for the next tournament. Taking first place in the qualifying group with the teams of Czechoslovakia, Ireland and Turkey, in the next qualifying stage, the Spaniards lost twice 0:1 and 1:2.

Euro 1972

• Current champion: Italy.
• Outcome: did not reach the final part.

Four years later, the same fate befell the Italian team. Having confidently won their qualifying group, the Italians lost to the Belgian national team, playing a goalless draw at home and losing 1:2 away.

Euro 1976

• Current champion: Germany.
• Outcome: 2nd place.

Unlike the Spaniards and Italians, the German national team in 1976 took part in the final tournament. In the group, the Germans confidently took first place, without losing a single match, in the next stage they defeated the Spanish team - 1:1 in Madrid and 2:0 in Munich.

In the final part, the German national team demonstrated their characteristic strong-willed qualities. Losing in the semi-finals to the Yugoslavs 0:2, the Germans first leveled the score, in extra time they scored twice more. It is noteworthy that the second goal of the Germans in the 81st minute was scored by Dieter Müller, who appeared on the field a minute before. He also scored both goals in extra time.

In the final with Czechoslovakia again 0:2 by the middle of the second half and 2:2 by the final whistle, and this time the Germans scored the second goal in the last minute of the meeting.

True, in extra time the score did not change, and the Czechoslovak football players were lucky in the penalty shootout, where.

Euro 1980

• Current champion: Czechoslovakia.
• Outcome: 3rd place.

Four years later, 8 teams qualified for the final tournament, which were divided into two groups, the winners of which went directly to the final. Fate brought Czechoslovakia and Germany together in one group, and they met already in the first round.

Football players of Germany took revenge due to the only goal scored by Rummenigge. A draw with the Dutch team and a victory over Greece was enough for the reigning European champions only for second place.

And in the match for third place, the Czechoslovak team defeated the Italian team, which is noteworthy, also in a penalty shootout.

Euro 1984

• Current champion: Germany.
• Bottom line: did not leave the group.

In the 1984 European Championship, there was that rare case when the German national team could not leave the group. Having played 0:0 with Portugal and defeated 2:1 the Romanians, the Germans were in the lead in the group.

In the match with the Spanish team, the score was not opened until the last minute, which suited the West German team quite well, but in the 90th minute, Maceda still scored the ball against Harald Schumacher, sending the Germans home.

Euro 1988

• Current champion: France.
• Outcome: did not reach the final part.

The 1984 champions, the French, failed the qualifying tournament for the next European Championship. In eight meetings, only one victory was won - at home over the team of Iceland. And the teams of the USSR, the GDR and Norway were taken only one point each. As a result - the third place in the group.

In fairness, it should be noted that the French national team was going through a generational change - players such as Bossis, Giresse, and, of course, Platini completed their performances for the country's main team.

Euro 1992

• Current champion: Holland.
• Outcome: Lost in the semi-finals.

In 1992, the Dutch team was determined to defend the title. There was every reason for this: after the failure at the 1990 World Cup, the legendary Rinus Michels again headed the team. The main stars of the team: Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten were at the peak of their careers, having grown to the level of the national team.

The Dutch confirmed the seriousness of their claims with performances in the group, confidently taking first place and defeating the reigning world champions, the German national team - 3:1. And the game demonstrated by the Dutch was admired by all fans and specialists. But in the semifinals, they unexpectedly drew with the main sensation of that tournament - and lost to them in a penalty shootout.

Euro 1996

• Current champion: Denmark.
• Bottom line: did not leave the group.

No one believed that the Danes would defend their title on the fields of foggy Albion. And so it happened - in the group, the Danish team took third place with one victory, one draw and one defeat, leaving Portugal and Croatia ahead.

It cannot be called a failure, the Danes performed in their strength, and the result of four years ago was not even a jump above their heads, but something much more.

Euro 2000

• Current champion: Germany.
• Bottom line: did not leave the group.

And the Germans' attempt to defend the title in 2000 again ended in failure. Having played a draw with the Romanians in the first round, the German team lost to the British, and in the third round was unexpectedly defeated by the Portuguese team 0:3.

Euro 2004

• Current champion: France.
• Outcome: defeat in the ¼ finals.

The French team at the 2004 European Championships started on a healthy footing - an incredible 2-1 victory over England (remember Beckham's missed penalty and Zidane's two goals in stoppage time?), a draw with Croatia and a confident victory over the Swiss team.

However, already in the 1/4 finals, the French attack could not do anything with the defense of the Greek national team, and Charisteas was able to hit the gates of Barthez. Later, the Greeks did the same trick with the Czechs and the Portuguese and won the tournament sensationally.

Euro 2008

• Current champion: Greece.
• Bottom line: did not leave the group.

But four years later, in the Austrian Salzburg, where the Greek team played all three matches of the group stage, they were in for a failure. Three defeats, including from the Russian team, and only one goal scored.

Euro 2012

• Current champion: Spain.
• Outcome: champion.

And only in 2012, for the first time in history, the current European champion did not resign. The superb team of Spain won the tournament confidently with four wins and two draws on a 12-1 goal difference.

The apotheosis was the final against Italy, which ended with a score of 4:0 - the largest in the history of the finals of the European Championships.

Only once the champions hung in the balance - in the series after match penalties in the semi-finals. However, the nerves of the Spaniards turned out to be all right.

Euro 2016

• Current champion: Spain.
• Result: defeats in the 1/8 finals.

Years.

Coach: Joachim Loew.

One of the strongest teams in European football. The Germans (from 1945 to 1990 - the German national team) won the world championship four times (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014), became the strongest in Europe three times (1972, 1980, 1996) and won European silver medals the same number of times - in 1976, 1992 and 2008. In the final tournaments, they won 23 matches out of 43. The German national team only once failed to break into the final stage of the European tournament, missing the 1968 European Championship.

Four times the German national team took the second place in the world championship (1966, 1982, 1986, 2002) and in four cases - the third (1934, 1970, 2006, 2010). In the history of the World Cup, no other team has played more matches (106) than Germany.

At the World Championships, the German national team has never been left out of the playoffs, while the European Championship ended three times for it in the group stage - in 1984 and 2004, the Germans finished third, and in 2000 they took the last place in their quartet.

Spain

European Champion 1964, 2008, 2012.

Coach: Vicente del Bosque.

The European Championship was first conquered by the Spaniards in 1964. With a score of 2:1 at the Madrid Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the USSR team was defeated. After that, and until 2008, the best result of the Spaniards was reaching the final of the 1984 European Championship. In 2008, Germany was defeated 1-0 in the final match. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the Spanish team became the first European team to win the World Cup on a foreign continent.

In the final of Euro 2012, the Spaniards defeated Italy 4-0 in Kyiv (Ukraine) and also became the first who managed to defend the title of European champions. They failed to defend the title of world champions in 2014.

France

European Champions 1984, 2000

Coach: Didier Deschamps.

Coach: Danny Blind.

At their debut European Championship in 1976, the Dutch won bronze, losing in the semi-finals to the Yugoslavs in extra time.

The finest hour of the "orange" was the 1988 European Championship in Germany. Having defeated the USSR national team in the final, the Dutch became European champions.

Since then, the Dutch team has been a regular participant in the final tournaments of the European Championship, in which they reached the semi-finals in 1992, 2000 and 2004. In 2008, the Dutch team lost in the quarter-finals to Russia after extra time, and did not qualify from the group stage at Euro 2012. In 2016, the Dutch team did not make it to the finals of the European Championship.

Coach: Aage Hareide.

The Danish national team has rich experience of participating in European championships. The Danes made it out of the group at their debut final tournament in 1964 when they finished fourth, and in 1984 again reached the semi-finals. Since then, the Danish national team has not played in only one continental championship - in 2008. The high point of the national team was the 1992 tournament. The triumph in Sweden was notable for the fact that the Danes entered the championship at the very last moment instead of Yugoslavia, which was removed. In the group stage, England and France were defeated, and in the semi-final on penalties, the defending champions, the Dutch. In the final of the championship, the Danes defeated the Germans with a score of 2:0.

In 2004, the Danish national team reached the quarter-finals, but conceded three goals early in the second half and recognized the superiority of the Czech Republic. The Danes did not make it to the 2008 European Championship, and they did not leave the group for Euro 2012, although they defeated the Netherlands in the first round.

Since then, the Danes have performed at the world championship three more times (1998, 2002, 2010), in France in 1998 they reached the quarterfinals.

Coach: Michael Skibbe.

For the first time, the Greek national team played at the European Championship in 1980 and scored only one point in three matches. The Greeks next played in the final tournament 24 years later. Under the guidance of German coach Otto Rehhagel, the Greeks surpassed their wildest expectations and won the gold of Euro 2004. In the rank of champions at Euro 2008, the Greeks lost all three meetings of the group stage, and at Euro 2012 they lost in the quarterfinals to the Germans.

In 2016, the Greek national team did not make it to the finals of the continental championship.

The Greeks made their way to the World Cup three times - in 1994, 2010 and 2014.

Prepared on the basis of materials from open sources