European Championship
History, Winners, & Facts
European Championship, formally UEFA European Championship, also called Euro, in football (soccer), a quadrennial tournament held between the member countries of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The European Championship is second in prestige to the World Cup among international football tournaments.
The first final of the European Championship (then known as the European Nations’ Cup) took place in 1960 after two years of preliminary contests between 17 national football clubs. In 1960 the Euro final tournament consisted of four teams, but it expanded to eight teams in 1980 and 16 teams in 1996. Currently, qualification for a European Championship begins two years before the scheduled final when all members of UEFA begin playing among themselves to earn a berth in the 16-team tournament (the qualification process does not include the host country or countries, which automatically qualify for the final).
Results of the European Championship are provided in the table.
year
result
*Czechoslovakia won penalty shoot-out 5–3.
**Postponed until 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
***Italy won penalty shoot-out 3–2.
1960
U.S.S.R.
2
Yugoslavia
1
1964
Spain
2
U.S.S.R.
1
1968
Italy
2
Yugoslavia
1972
West Germany
3
U.S.S.R.
1976
Czechoslovakia*
2
West Germany
2
1980
West Germany
2
Belgium
1
1984
France
2
Spain
1988
Netherlands
2
U.S.S.R.
1992
Denmark
2
Germany
1996
Germany
2
Czech Republic
1
2000
France
2
Italy
1
2004
Greece
1
Portugal
2008
Spain
1
Germany
2012
Spain
4
Italy
2016
Portugal
1
France
2020**
Italy***
1
England
1
What's Your Reaction?
![like](https://www.piguhua.com/assets/img/reactions/like.png)
![dislike](https://www.piguhua.com/assets/img/reactions/dislike.png)
![love](https://www.piguhua.com/assets/img/reactions/love.png)
![funny](https://www.piguhua.com/assets/img/reactions/funny.png)
![angry](https://www.piguhua.com/assets/img/reactions/angry.png)
![sad](https://www.piguhua.com/assets/img/reactions/sad.png)
![wow](https://www.piguhua.com/assets/img/reactions/wow.png)