The UEFA European Championship is one of the biggest football tournaments in the world for national teams. It is second only to the FIFA World Cup in how popular and important it is but it had its humble beginnings before it gained this popularity. Let’s take a look at the fascinating history of this tournament.
The Beginnings
The idea for a European football championship first came about in 1927. Henri Delaunay, who was the secretary general for the French Football Federation, proposed having a tournament where the best national teams from across Europe would compete against each other to be crowned champions of the continent. Unfortunately, Delaunay passed away in 1935 before he could bring his dream into reality.
The first European Championship tournament was finally held in 1960, over 30 years after it was first proposed. To honor Henri Delaunay’s vision, the trophy awarded to the winning team was named after him – the Henri Delaunay Trophy.
Originally, only four national teams participated in the 1960 tournament: Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, France, and Czechoslovakia. The Soviet Union defeated Yugoslavia 2-1 in the final match in Paris to become the first-ever UEFA champions.
Growth and Expansion
Over the decades that followed, the European Championship grew bigger in both popularity and scale. In 1980, the number of teams participating in the tournament increased from 4 to 8 teams. Then in 1996, it expanded again from 8 to 16 teams to allow more countries to have a chance at glory.
Most recently, in 2016, the tournament had its biggest expansion yet, welcoming 24 national teams to the finals for the first time. Now, the tournament has grown larger, and so has its popularity worldwide. With the 2024 tournament just starting, fans can no longer contain their excitement. People have already started their predictions about which teams will get to the finals. Betting platforms are already releasing the latest odds, like Unibet Euro 2024 odds.
The Format
First, all the national teams (except the host nations who automatically qualify) compete in a qualifying round where they play matches against each other in a group stage. The top teams from the qualifying round then advance to the final tournament.
At the final tournament, the 24 qualified teams are split into six groups of four teams each. Every team plays one match against the three other teams in their group, with the top two teams from each group automatically advancing to the knockout rounds. The four best third-place teams also go through.
The knockout rounds include the Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and then the huge final match where the last two teams fight to win the right to lift the iconic Henri Delaunay Trophy.
Most Memorable and Iconic Finals
Since that first tournament in 1960, there have been a total of 16 final matches, and some of them particularly stand out for some reason. Here are some of the most iconic finals in the history of UEFA European Championship tournaments:
- Portugal 0-1 Greece (2004): Greece was not expected to win at all since they were considered huge underdogs, with pre-tournament odds of 150/1 against them becoming champions. But they defeated the host nation Portugal 1-0 in the final for one of the biggest upsets in the history of the tournament.
- Spain 4-0 Italy (2012): This victory helped Spain take their place as one of the greatest international teams ever by becoming the first nation to win three consecutive major tournaments (Euro 2008, World Cup 2010, Euro 2012).
- Italy 1-1 England (2020): Italy beat England on penalties after a 1-1 draw to break English hearts. The final was played at England’s home stadium Wembley in front of mostly English fans. After neither team could win in regulation and extra time, Italy edged England in a dramatic penalty shootout to crush England’s dream of winning their first European title on home soil.