The Last 5 Winners of the UEFA European Championship
The FIFA World Cup is the world’s most prestigious international football tournament. However, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Championship, also known as the Euros, is still popular worldwide. The final of the most recent tournament in 2016, for instance, was watched by 284 million people worldwide.
The first-ever tournament was held in France in 1960 and subsequent tournaments have been held every four years. Euro 2020 was expected to begin in Rome, Italy, on June 12, but the event has been postponed to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are the five most recent winners of tournament:
1. Portugal (2016)
Portugal became the 10th different nation to win the UEFA European Championship in 2016. The tournament was hosted in France and featured 24 teams split into six groups of four teams. Portugal finished third place in Group F in the group stage of the tournament after registering draws against all three other teams: Iceland, Austria, and Hungary.
Because it just barely qualified for the knockout stage, Portugal was tasked with facing Croatia, the first-place finisher in Group D, in the round of 16. It scored a 1–0 victory in extra time against Croatia and subsequently defeated Poland and Wales to advance to the final, where it met the host country France.
Once again, Portugal needed extra time to secure the victory as Eder, who came into the match earlier as a substitute, scored the lone goal in the 108th minute of Portugal’s 1–0 victory. The win was a triumph for the Portuguese side as it overcame a furious offensive attack from France in the first 10 minutes of the match and lost its star player, Cristiano Ronaldo, to injury in the 25th minute.
2. Spain (2012)
The 2012 UEFA European Championship marked the fifth and final tournament in which 16 teams participated. Twenty-four teams took part in the 2016 tournament and only eight teams were included from 1980 to 1992. Only four teams played in the first five tournaments.
Spain, the defending champions, advanced to the knockout phase out of Group C along with Italy. The two teams played to a 1–1 draw in Group C’s opening match and met again in the final. Spain defeated France and Portugal in the quarter- and semi-finals respectively, while Italy defeated England and Germany. Spain defeated Italy handily by a score of 4–0 in the final.
David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres, and Juan Mata scored Spain’s four goals in the final. Torres, who also scored in the 2008 UEFA European Championship final, became the first player in history to score in multiple finals. The victory ended a particularly dominant era for Spain; it also won the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
3. Spain (2008)
Spain’s reign of football dominance began with its victory in the final of the 2008 UEFA European Championship. The team defeated Germany 1–0 in the final thanks to a goal from Torres in the 33rd minute of the match. It was the first Euro title for Spain in 44 years.
The team reached the final by beating Russia and Italy in the semi- and quarter-finals, respectively. Prior to that, it finished the group stage with a perfect 3–0 record with victories over Russia, Sweden, and Greece.
Despite it being a monumental victory for Spain, the 2008 UEFA European Championship is perhaps best remembered for the fun and exciting Turkey squad. The country didn’t even qualify for the 2004 tournament, but made it to the semi-finals in 2008 before suffering a 3–2 loss to Germany. It finished second behind Portugal in Group A and advanced past Croatia via penalty kicks in the quarter-finals.
4. Greece (2004)
The 2004 UEFA European Championship was the first tournament held in Portugal and marked the first time the host country lost in the final. France hosted and won the tournament in 1984 and lost to Portugal in the final when it hosted the 2016 tournament.
In 2004, Portugal defeated England and Netherlands to reach the final, but lost to Greece 1–0 on a goal by Angelos Charisteas in the 57th minute of the match. Greece reached the final by beating Czech Republic and France in the knockout stage. Charisteas was Greece’s leading scorer with three goals, while Milan Baroš of Czech Republic led all players with five goals.
5. France (2000)
France won its second UEFA European Championship in 2000 following a 2–1 victory over Italy in dramatic fashion. Italy opened the scoring on a goal from Marco Delvecchio in the 55th minute of the match. It held the lead until the third minute of injury time, when Sylvain Witford evened the score.
David Trezeguet scored the golden goal, his second of the tournament, in the 103rd minute to secure the victory. Savo Milošević of Serbia and Patrick Kluivert of Netherlands tied for the tournament lead in goals with five.
