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(Turns out there are only 11 host countries (there were originally supposed to be 13 with England only having knockout stage matches, now Russia hosts matches of 2 groups)) |
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Known by its full title of the UEFA European Football Championship, and more commonly referred to as "Euro ''xx''", where ''xx'' is the year. It has been held every 4 years since 1960. This is the other primary [[The Beautiful Game|football]] competition for Europe's national teams. It fills the void between [[The World Cup|World Cups]] by being held 2 years out of phase from each World Cup, and within Europe is nearly as highly regarded. |
Known by its full title of the UEFA European Football Championship, and more commonly referred to as "Euro ''xx''", where ''xx'' is the year. It has been held every 4 years since 1960. This is the other primary [[The Beautiful Game|football]] competition for Europe's national teams. It fills the void between [[The World Cup|World Cups]] by being held 2 years out of phase from each World Cup, and within Europe is nearly as highly regarded. |
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| − | It follows the same basic format as its worldwide cousin. Teams are first required to qualify for the tournament itself through qualifying groups although the hosts are granted automatic entry into the tournament proper (with the exception of UEFA Euro 2020 |
+ | It follows the same basic format as its worldwide cousin. Teams are first required to qualify for the tournament itself through qualifying groups although the hosts are granted automatic entry into the tournament proper (with the exception of UEFA Euro 2020). Each group results in two teams qualifying for the finals and 24 clubs are currently allowed to participate. In the finals themselves there is another group stage which will result in 16 teams going through into the knockout stage. The winners are crowned European champions. |
So far the winners have been: |
So far the winners have been: |
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* Poland & Ukraine 2012 |
* Poland & Ukraine 2012 |
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* France 2016 |
* France 2016 |
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| − | * Pan-European 2020 (hosted in |
+ | * Pan-European 2020 (hosted in 11 different countries [[Non-Indicative Name|in 2021]]) |
* Germany 2024 |
* Germany 2024 |
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Revision as of 09:30, 3 June 2021
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Known by its full title of the UEFA European Football Championship, and more commonly referred to as "Euro xx", where xx is the year. It has been held every 4 years since 1960. This is the other primary football competition for Europe's national teams. It fills the void between World Cups by being held 2 years out of phase from each World Cup, and within Europe is nearly as highly regarded.
It follows the same basic format as its worldwide cousin. Teams are first required to qualify for the tournament itself through qualifying groups although the hosts are granted automatic entry into the tournament proper (with the exception of UEFA Euro 2020). Each group results in two teams qualifying for the finals and 24 clubs are currently allowed to participate. In the finals themselves there is another group stage which will result in 16 teams going through into the knockout stage. The winners are crowned European champions.
So far the winners have been:
- Germany (Also as West Germany) - 1972, 1980, 1996
- Spain - 1964, 2008, 2012
- France - 1984, 2000
- USSR - 1960
- Italy - 1968
- Czechoslovakia - 1976
- Netherlands - 1988
- Denmark - 1992
- Greece - 2004
- Portugal - 2016
The hosts were/are/will be:
- France 1960
- Spain 1964
- Italy 1968
- Belgium 1972
- Yugoslavia 1976
- Italy 1980
- France 1984
- West Germany 1988
- Sweden 1992
- England 1996
- Belgium & Netherlands 2000
- Portugal 2004
- Austria & Switzerland 2008
- Poland & Ukraine 2012
- France 2016
- Pan-European 2020 (hosted in 11 different countries in 2021)
- Germany 2024
The tournament gave rise to the English anthem "Three Lions". This quickly caught on before England hosted the tournament in 1996. Despite England going out in the semi-finals, the song has become a very popular football anthem. Like in The World Cup the English fans expect great things each time it rolls around but the closest England have come is the semi finals in 1996.