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The 1996 European Football Championship (or simply Euro 96) was hosted by England. It was the tenth European Football Championship, which is held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The tournament's final stages took place between June 8 and June 30, 1996. The slogan of the tournament was "Football Comes Home", as it was the first time the tournament took place in England, the land where the game was born.
This was the first European Championship to introduce the current format of 16 countries competing in the final tournament. Fifteen teams had to go through a qualifying round to reach the final stage. England qualified automatically as hosts of the event.
The qualifying round was played throughout 1994 and 1995. There were eight qualifying groups of six teams each, with the exception of group 3, which only had 5. The matches were played in a home-and-away basis.
The winner and the runner-up of each group qualified automatically, with the exception of the two worst runners-up. These two teams had to play an additional playoff between them (single match in neutral ground), to determine the 16th team to join all others in the final tournament. This was between Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool which the Dutch won 2-0.
The first round group stage went mainly as most observers would have expected, with almost all the major teams qualifying for the quarter-finals. The only exceptions to this were the failures of Italy (from the "Group of Death" which also had Germany and the Czech Republic in it) and defending champions Denmark. The hosts England, after a slow start against Switzerland, defeated arch rivals Scotland and then thrashed Holland 4-1 with a superb performance to qualify.
However, the knock-out stages were marked for their generally uninspiring play. Only 8 goals were scored in the 7 matches, with four of the games decided by penalty shoot-outs. The semi-final between England and Germany ultimately ended in disappointment for the home side, as Germany beat England on penalties.
The final of the tournament was between Germany and the surprise of the tournament - the Czech Republic. In the end, it was a triumph for German striker Oliver Bierhoff, who scored Germany's equaliser in the 2nd half after Patrick Berger's penalty had given the Czechs the lead. As the game went into extra time, it was Bierhoff who scored the Golden Goal (after a mistake from the Czech goalkeeper) to give Germany its last major tournament success.
Qualification
The following teams participated in the final tournament:
| Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Italy Netherlands | Portugal Romania Russia Scotland Spain Switzerland Turkey |
England automatically qualified for the tournament as host
For details concerning the qualifying phase, check 1996 European Football Championship (qualifying)
Venues
- Wembley Stadium, London - Capacity: 78,000
- Old Trafford, Manchester - Capacity: 55,000
- Anfield, Liverpool - Capacity: 41,000
- Villa Park, Birmingham - Capacity: 40,000
- Elland Road, Leeds - Capacity: 40,000
- Hillsborough, Sheffield - Capacity: 39,000
- St James' Park, Newcastle - Capacity 36,000
- City Ground, Nottingham - Capacity: 30,000
Squads
For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1996 European Football Championship (squads).
First round
Note: All times local (BST), with half-time scores in brackets.
Group A
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| England | 1 - 1 | Switzerland |
| Netherlands | 0 - 0 | Scotland |
| Switzerland | 0 - 2 | Netherlands |
| Scotland | 0 - 2 | England |
| Scotland | 1 - 0 | Switzerland |
| Netherlands | 1 - 4 | England |
| 1 - 1 (1-0) | Switzerland'''15:00 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Manuel Diaz Vega (Spain) | |
| Shearer 23' | Türkyilmaz (p) 84' |
| 0 - 0 (0-0) | Scotland'''16:30 - Villa Park, Birmingham Ref: Leif Sundell (Sweden) |
| 0 - 2 (0-0) | Netherlands'''19:30 - Villa Park, Birmingham Ref: Atanas Uzunov (Bulgaria) | |
| Cruyff 66' | ||
| Bergkamp 79' |
| 0 - 2 (0-0) | England'''15:00 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy) | |
| Shearer 53' | ||
| Gascoigne 79' |
| 1 - 0 (1-0) | Switzerland'''19:30 - Villa Park, Birmingham Ref: Vacláv Krondl (Czech Republic) | |
| McCoist 36' | ||
| 1 - 4 (0-1) | England'''19:30 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Gerd Grabher (Austria) | |
| Kluivert 78' | Shearer (p) 23', 57' | |
| Sheringham 51', 62' |
Group B
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Spain | 1 - 1 | Bulgaria |
| Romania | 0 - 1 | France |
| Bulgaria | 1 - 0 | Romania |
| France | 1 - 1 | Spain |
| France | 3 - 1 | Bulgaria |
| Romania | 1 - 2 | Spain |
| 1 - 1 (0-0) | Bulgaria'''14:30 - Elland Road, Leeds Ref: Piero Ceccarini (Italy) | |
| Alfonso 74' | Stoichkov (p) 65' |
| 0 - 1 (0-1) | France'''19:30 - St James' Park, Newcastle Ref: Hellmut Krug (Germany) | |
| Dugarry 25' |
| 1 - 0 (1-0) | Romania'''16:30 - St James' Park, Newcastle Ref: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark) |
| Stoichkov 3' |
| 1 - 1 (0-0) | Spain'''18:00 - Elland Road, Leeds Ref: Vadim Zhuk (Belarus) | |
| Djorkaeff 49' | Caminero 86' |
| 3 - 1 (1-0) | Bulgaria'''16:30 - St James' Park, Newcastle Ref: Dermot Gallagher (England) | |
| Blanc 21' | Stoichkov 69' | |
| Penev (og) 63' | ||
| Loko 90' | ||
| 1 - 2 (1-1) | Spain'''16:30 - Elland Road, Leeds Ref: Ahmet Çakar (Turkey) | |
| Raducioiu 29' | Manjarín 11' | |
| Amor 84' |
Group C
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Germany | 2 - 0 | Czech Republic |
| Italy | 2 - 1 | Russia |
| Czech Republic | 2 - 1 | Italy |
| Russia | 0 - 3 | Germany |
| Russia | 3 - 3 | Czech Republic |
| Italy | 0 - 0 | Germany |
| 2 - 0 (2-0) | Czech Republic'''17:00 - Old Trafford, Manchester Ref: David Elleray (England) |
| Ziege 26' | |
| Möller 32' |
| 2 - 1 (1-1) | Russia'''16:30 - Anfield, Liverpool Ref: Leslie Mottram (Scotland) | |
| Casiraghi 5', 52' | Tsymbalar 21' |
| 2 - 1 (2-1) | Italy'''19:30 - Anfield, Liverpool Ref: Antonio López Nieto (Spain) | |
| Nedvěd 4' | Chiesa 18' | |
| Bejbl 35' |
| 0 - 3 (0-0) | Germany'''15:00 - Old Trafford, Manchester Ref: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark) | |
| Sammer 56' | ||
| Klinsmann 77', 90' |
| 3 - 3 (0-2) | Czech Republic'''19:30 - Anfield, Liverpool Ref: Anders Frisk (Sweden) | |
| Mostovoi 49' | Suchopárek 5' | |
| Tetradze 54' | Kuka 19' | |
| Beschastnykh 85' | Šmicer 88' | |
| 0 - 0 (0-0) | Germany'''19:30 - Old Trafford, Manchester Ref: Guy Goethals (Belgium) |
Group D
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
| Denmark | 1 - 1 | Portugal |
| Turkey | 0 - 1 | Croatia |
| Portugal | 1 - 0 | Turkey |
| Croatia | 3 - 0 | Denmark |
| Croatia | 0 - 3 | Portugal |
| Turkey | 0 - 3 | Denmark |
| 1 - 1 (1-0) | Portugal'''19:30 - Hillsborough, Sheffield Ref: Mario van der Ende (Netherlands) | |
| B. Laudrup 22' | Sá Pinto 53' |
| 0 - 1 (0-0) | Croatia'''19:30 - City Ground, Nottingham Ref: Serge Muhmenthaler (Switzerland) | |
| Vlaović 86' |
| 1 - 0 (0-0) | Turkey'''16:30 - City Ground, Nottingham Ref: Sandor Puhl (Hungary) |
| Couto 66' |
| 3 - 0 (0-0) | Denmark'''18:00 - Hillsborough, Sheffield Ref: Marc Batta (France) |
| Šuker (p) 53', 90' | |
| Boban 81' |
| 0 - 3 (0-2) | Portugal'''16:30 - City Ground, Nottingham Ref: Bernd Heynemann (Germany) | |
| Figo 4' | ||
| João Vieira Pinto 33' | ||
| Domingos 82' | ||
| 0 - 3 (0-0) | Denmark'''16:30 - Hillsborough, Sheffield Ref: Nikolai Levnikov (Russia) | |
| B. Laudrup 50', 84' | ||
| A. Nielsen 69' |
Knockout stages
Quarter-finals
June 22, 1996
| 0 - 0 (0-0) | Spain15:00 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Marc Batta (France) | |||
| after extra-time: | 0 - 0 (0-0) | |||
| Penalty shootout | ||||
| 4 - 2 | Spain||||
| Shearer: goal | 1-0 | Hierro: crossbar | ||
| Platt: goal | 2-1 | Amor: goal | ||
| Pearce: goal | 3-2 | Belsue: goal | ||
| Gascoigne: goal | 4-2 | Nadal: Seaman saved | ||
| 0 - 0 (0-0) | France18:30 - Anfield, Liverpool Ref: Antonio López Nieto (Spain) | |||
| after extra-time: | 0 - 0 (0-0) | |||
| Penalty shootout | ||||
| 4 - 5 | France||||
| de Kock: goal | 1-1 | Zidane: goal | ||
| R. de Boer: goal | 2-2 | Djorkaeff: goal | ||
| Kluivert: goal | 3-3 | Lizarazu: goal | ||
| Seedorf: Lama saved | 3-4 | Guérin: goal | ||
| Blind: goal | 4-5 | Blanc: goal | ||
| 2 - 1 (1-0) | Croatia15:00 - Old Trafford, Manchester Ref: Leif Sundell (Sweden) | |
| Klinsmann (p) 20' | Šuker 51' | |
| Sammer 59' | ||
| 1 - 0 (0-0) | Portugal18:30 - Villa Park, Birmingham Ref: Hellmut Krug (Germany) | |
| Poborský 53' |
Semi-finals
June 26, 1996
| 0 - 0 (0-0) | Czech Republic16:00 - Old Trafford, Manchester Ref: Leslie Mottram (Scotland) | |||
| after extra-time: | 0 - 0 (0-0) | |||
| Penalty shootout | ||||
| 5 - 6 | Czech Republic||||
| Zidane: goal | 1-1 | Kubík: goal | ||
| Djorkaeff: goal | 2-2 | Nedvěd: goal | ||
| Lizarazu: goal | 3-3 | Berger: goal | ||
| Guérin: goal | 4-4 | Poborský: goal | ||
| Blanc: goal | 5-5 | Rada: goal | ||
| Pedros: Kouba saved | 5-6 | Kadlec: goal | ||
| 1 - 1 (1-1) | Germany19:30 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Sandor Puhl (Hungary) | |||
| after extra-time: | 1 - 1 (1-1) | |||
| Shearer 3' | Kuntz 16' | |||
| Penalty shootout | ||||
| 5 - 6 | Germany||||
| Shearer: goal | 1-1 | Hässler: goal | ||
| Platt: goal | 2-2 | Strunz: goal | ||
| Pearce: goal | 3-3 | Reuter: goal | ||
| Gascoigne: goal | 4-4 | Ziege: goal | ||
| Sheringham: goal | 5-5 | Kuntz: goal | ||
| Southgate: Köpke saved | 5-6 | Möller: goal | ||
Final
June 30, 1996
| 1 - 1 (0-0) | Czech Republic19:00 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy) Attendance: 73,611 | |
| after extra-time: | 2 - 1 | |
| Bierhoff 73', (GG) 95' | Berger (p) 59' |
Statistics
Goal scorers
5 Goals Alan Shearer3 Goals Jürgen Klinsmann Davor Šuker Brian Laudrup Hristo Stoichkov
2 Goals Oliver Bierhoff Matthias Sammer Teddy Sheringham Pierluigi Casiraghi
UEFA Team of the Tournament
Goalkeepers Andreas Koepke David Seaman
Defenders Colin Hendry Fernando Couto Dieter Eilts Paolo Maldini Matthias Sammer
Midfielders Youri Djorkaeff Paul Gascoigne Karel Poborsky Steve McManaman Jose Luis Caminero Manuel Rui Costa
Forwards Hristo Stoichkov Brian Laudrup Alan Shearer Davor Šuker
UEFA MVP of the Tournament Steve McManaman
UEFA Player of the Tournament Jürgen Klinsmann
Fastest goal
3 Minutes : Alan Shearer (England vs Germany); Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria vs Romania)Average goals
2.06 per game.The Winning Squad
1996 in football (soccer) | 1996 European Football Championship | History of English football | Sports festivals hosted in England | Sport in Liverpool | Sport in London | Sport in Nottingham | Sport in Sheffield
Fußball-Europameisterschaft 1996 | Eurocopa de fútbol 1996 | Championnat d'Europe de football 1996 | Campionato europeo di calcio 1996 | יורו 1996 | Europees kampioenschap voetbal 1996 | サッカー欧州選手権1996 | EM i fotball 1996 | Mistrzostwa Europy w piłce nożnej 1996 | Campeonato Europeu de Futebol de 1996 | Europamästerskapet i fotboll 1996
"1996 European Football Championship"