Since its inaugural tournament in 1960, the UEFA European Championship has produced some great close finishes. Some legendary players took part, and they also scored some of the finest goals. In this article, we’ll look back at the seven best games ever played at the Euro Cup.
7) England 4-1 Netherlands,1996 Group Stage England
England came into this match with a draw to Switzerland in their opener. Followed by an unconvincing 2-0 win over Scotland. That means they weren’t guaranteed qualification going into the last group of the Euro game against Holland. But, England had some other plans against Holland. With the support of the home crowd from the back, England’s striker Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham dispatched the Dutch 4-1 at Wembley.
The Wembley crowd were England’s twelfth man, they were the backbone of the team. Holland was one of the toughest sides to beat In Euro Cup 1996. They had some great players with the likes of Edwin Van Der Sar, Michael Reiziger, Danny Blind, Clarence Seedorf, and Patrick Kluiver. All of them won the Champions League with Ajax a year before Euro Cup ’96.
6) Spain 4-0 Italy, 2012 Final Ukraine
2012, was the year of Spain. Everything they touched, would turn into gold. In 2012, Spain gave some extraordinary performances and created history. They became the first team to win back-to-back Euros and they did it while simultaneously being world champions. The world champions conceded just six goals across the three international tournaments they won in 2008, 2010, and 2012.
This team was full-packed with star players. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, David Villa, Cesc Fabregas, Sergio Busquets, Sergio Ramos, and Iker Casillas played an important role. They defeating Portugal on penalties in the semi-finals and they played finals against Italy. A side was full of confidence after knocking out Germany. Spain swept Italy in the finals and created history, with goals from David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres, and Juan Mata.
5) Czech Republic 1-0 Portugal, 1996
The match includes one of the most iconic goals in Euro Cup history. The game was ultimately decided by a moment of magic from Poborský, who showed incredible awareness to beat Vítor Baía in 53 minutes.
The Czechs had to cling on when Radoslav Látal was dismissed late on but Poborský’s was a goal worthy of winning any game. It also earned the shaggy-maned Czech a lucrative move to Manchester United. Karel Poborský won the man of the match award for his incredible performance.
4) Sweden 2-3 England, 2012
Roy Hodgson was added in late to take charge of England’s Euro 2012 campaign. He oversaw this rip-roaring end to a group-stage classic. An Andy Carroll header gave Roy’s men, minus the suspended Wayne Rooney, the lead but Sweden scored twice after the break to put England’s qualification in jeopardy.
Theo Walcott came off the bench to smack in an equalizer. Källström shooting just over in the last minutes and Hart superbly denying Ibrahimović, Welbeck cleverly flicked into a thrilling win for England. The sheer joy on his face after his first competitive goal on just the 21-year-old’s seventh appearance. England’s margin might have been even greater had Gerrard not been denied by Isaksson from point-blank range in added time, but it mattered not.
3) Portugal 3- 2 England, 2000
Portugal pulled off a famous victory in Eindhoven, coming from two goals down to beat England 3-2 in a memorable Group A encounter. Kevin Keegan’s England couldn’t have got off to a better start at Euro 2000.
Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman converted David Beckham crosses inside the opening 18 minutes. But Portugal’s star-studded midfield, directed by Rui Costa, stole the show in the end. Luis Figo’s incredible shot and a superb header from Joao Pinto saw Portugal’s level by half-time, and Nuno Gomes banged the last goal to put Portugal on top.
2) France 4-5 Yugoslavia, 1960 Opening Match
What a way to start the tournament. Four sides participated in the inaugural European Championship. The eventual winners the Soviet Union, runners-up Yugoslavia, third-placed Czechoslovakia, and host-nation France.
As many as 26,370 spectators for the opening game of the inaugural UEFA European Championship. However, after 90 absorbing minutes, even the most partisan home fan had to concede the future was bright.
The hosts opened the tournament by taking on Yugoslavia, and an instant classic ensued, with the nine-goal thriller still holding the record of most goals in a single Euro game. And France almost took the spoils, leading 4-2 with 15 minutes to play. The Yugoslavs netted three times in four minutes to steal victory from the jaws of defeat.
1) Portugal 0-1 Greece, 2004 Final Portugal
The greatest upset in the history of the Euros. Greece went into Euro 2004 as one of the outsiders and a 150/1 shot to win the competition. In fact, Greece had never won a match in the finals of a major football tournament.
They beat Portugal 2-1 in the tournament’s first game in Porto and beat them 1-0 in the tournament’s final game in Lisbon. At no point during the match did they look like they were losing. Angelos Charisteas scored from the Greeks’ first corner after 57 minutes, heading in an Angelos Basinas cross. One of the most extraordinary victories in the history of the game.