Euro football champions. A Brief History of the European Football Championships
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 European tournament, missing out on the 1968 European Championships.
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 stadium "Santiago Bernabeu" 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.
On their debut European Championship in 1976, the Dutch won bronze, losing in extra time to the Yugoslavs in the semi-finals.
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 got into the championship at the very last moment instead of the removed Yugoslavia. 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 get to the European Championship 2008, and they did not leave the group at 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. IN next time the Greeks 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 group stage, and at Euro 2012 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
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 without a fight went to final stage, 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, another goal scored by Viktor Ponedelnik). 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. Two minutes before the break, Yugoslav striker Milan Galich opened the score, 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 cross from 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-finals 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. And yet the Spaniards had the last word: in the 84th minute, the decisive goal was scored by Marcelino Martinez.
Despite quite decent final result, the defeat from the Francoist Spain team angered 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. Four strongest teams Got into final tournament which took place 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 semi-final, the Soviet team, thanks to a goal from Viktor Kolotov, defeated the Hungarians - 1: 0, and the German national team, in which Gerd Muller then shone, 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 on old formula with 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 with two defeats, she took first place with eight points and advanced to the quarterfinals. And this is where the main failure happened. The composition, which was based on the players of Dynamo Kiev, 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 Kiev - 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 1,500 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 in the final standings were higher than England and Spain. In the match for third place, the teams that took second places 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 was placed in 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. In the 57th minute, Michel Platini opened the scoring with two hat-tricks in five matches and became top scorer 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 taken 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 famous Marco van Basten made the only mistake in it, and the Danes, having won 5:4, ended up in the final, where they 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 national 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, the German national team, was born.
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). Winners and six out of eight the best teams, who took second places, went directly to the final part. The two remaining teams from the runners-up played a ticket to England in matches with each other. The host team of the tournament was released from the selection.
The Russian team led by 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, 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. Losing in Liverpool to the Italians - 1:2 (Ilya Tsymbalar scored a goal), Russian team then she lost to the Germans even more significantly - 0:3, after which she again tied with the Czechs in Liverpool - 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 historic victory at 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 last round all that was required was 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 Andriy Shevchenko's free-kick, he made a fatal mistake 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 through 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 opened the scoring thanks to Marco Delvecchio's goal in the 55th minute, but Silvan Wiltor equalized it in the third added minute, and in the 103rd David Trezeguet scored the "golden goal".
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 leadership of foreign coach- 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 figured 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 led 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).
Decisive match on Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Spain-Italy ended with the largest 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.
The FIFA World Cup is an international sports tournament, held under the auspices of FIFA, in which the best national teams of the planet compete. , and since then the competition has been held every 4 years (in 1942 and 1946 the tournament was not held due to the events of World War II).
The winner of the first World Cup was Uruguay, who defeated Argentina 4:2 in the final game at the Estadio Centenario (Centenario). In total, 13 teams took part in the debut World Cup: 7 from South America, 4 from Europe and two from North and Central America. Since then, 20 more World Cups have taken place.
Table of all world football champions by year
| Year | Tournament host | Winner | Check | Runners-up |
| 1930 | Uruguay | Uruguay | 4-2 | Argentina |
| 1934 | Italy | Italy | 2-1 (extra time) | Czechoslovakia |
| 1938 | France | Italy | 4-2 | Hungary |
| 1950 | Brazil | Uruguay | 2-1 | Brazil |
| 1954 | Switzerland | West Germany | 3-2 | Hungary |
| 1958 | Sweden | Brazil | 5-2 | Sweden |
| 1962 | Chile | Brazil | 3-1 | Czechoslovakia |
| 1966 | England | England | 4-2 (extra time) | West Germany |
| 1970 | Mexico | Brazil | 4-1 | Italy |
| 1974 | West Germany | West Germany | 2-1 | Netherlands |
| 1978 | Argentina | Argentina | 3-1 (extra time) | Netherlands |
| 1982 | Spain | Italy | 3-1 | West Germany |
| 1986 | Mexico | Argentina | 3-2 | West Germany |
| 1990 | Italy | West Germany | 1-0 | Argentina |
| 1994 | USA | Brazil | 0-0 (3-2 penalty shootout) | Italy |
| 1998 | France | France | 3-0 | Brazil |
| 2002 | Japan and South Korea | Brazil | 2-0 | Germany |
| 2006 | Germany | Italy | 1-1 (5-3 penalty shootout) | France |
| 2010 | South Africa | Spain | 1-0 (extra time) | Netherlands |
| 2014 | Brazil | Germany | 1-0 (extra time) | Argentina |
| 2018 | Russia | France | 4:2 | Croatia |
In the entire history, only 8 teams have won the World Cup. The most titled country of the World Cup is Brazil, which won the world football championship 5 times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002). The current world champion is the French team, which in the final match of the 2018 World Cup defeated the Croats with a score of 4: 2.
Below is a table of winners by country:
Note: Germany has been world champion three times like West Germany (1954, 1974 and 1990).
Some interesting facts about the World Cup
According to the current format, 32 national teams are participants in the final part of the World Cup. As mentioned above, 13 teams competed at the first World Cup. From 1934 to 1978 - 16. In 1982, the number of participants was increased to 24 teams.
The current current format consists of 32 teams. It was first presented at the 1998 World Cup in France. In 2026, 48 teams will take part in the final part of the World Cup.
Germany's Miroslav Klose is the top scorer in World Cup history. He has 16 goals scored. In second place is the Brazilian Ronaldo with 15 goals. Full list you can see the best goalscorers of the World Cup.
The record holder for the number of matches played at the World Cup is the midfielder of the German national team Lothar Matthäus (25 games). Behind Matthäus is his compatriot Miroslav Klose (24 games). Closes the top three of the best Italian national team legend Paulo Maldini (23 games).
European Football Championship(EURO, or simply European Championship) is the main competition of the national teams of European countries, held under the auspices of UEFA. The competition is held every 4 years, since 1960, takes place between the world championships. Initially, the tournament was called the European Nations Cup, in 1968 the name was changed to the European Football Championship.
What is interesting in the very first two finals was hosted by our then USSR national team. The first final was held in Paris between the USSR and Yugoslavia. The USSR national team celebrated the victory by scoring the winning goal in extra time. In 1964, the competition was spoiled by political activity: the Greek team refused to play with the Albanian team. The final part of the tournament was held in Spain, where the Spanish team won its first championship, beating the USSR 2-1 in the final. Further, for our team, the situation was less successful.
Winners
1960 - USSR
1964 - Spain
1968 - Italy
1972 - Germany
1976 - Czechoslovakia
1980 - Germany
1984 - France
1988 - Netherlands
1992 - Denmark
1996 - Germany
2000 - France
2004 - Greece
2008 - Spain
As you can see, most often the champions were the Germans. Spaniards and France won the Cup twice.
European Championship 2012
April 18, 2007 UEFA decided to hold Euro 2012 in two countries: Ukraine and Poland. Croatia/Hungary and Italy were also contenders.
The 2012 European Football Championship will be the 14th championship. The tournament will start on June 8, 2012 and end on July 1, 2012. This will be the third tournament in the history of European national football championships, hosted by two countries. The first was the 2000 European Championship held in Belgium and the Netherlands, the second was the 2008 European Championship held in Austria and Switzerland.
EURO 2012 is the last European Championship, in the final round of which 16 teams will take part. Starting in 2016, this number will be increased to 24.
You can read more about the history of the championship and its winners on the pages of Wikipedia (source).
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. After playing 0:0 with Portugal and beating the Romanians 2:1, 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.
Champions 1984 French failed 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 team was going through a generational change - they completed their performances for main team country players such as Bossis, Giresse, and, of course, Platini.
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 proved 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 the British (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 history current champion Europe 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.
