All The Winners Of The UEFA European Championship Tournament

The UEFA European Championship, commonly referred to as Euro, has been held every four years since 1960. Euro 2020 in the summer will be the tournament’s 16th edition and will be hosted by 12 cities in 12 countries across Europe to mark the championship’s 60th birthday. The past 15 tournaments have been won by ten national teams. Portugal is the reigning champion, beating host France in the Euro 2016 finals. Here are all the winners of the Euro tournament.

Germany

Germany has lifted the Henri Delaunay Trophy three times, more than any other country (except Spain who has also won it three times). They won the European championship for the first time in 1972 in Belgium, defeating the Soviet Union 3-0 in the finals. Germany, (then known as West Germany), reached the finals of the four-team tournament by beating hosts Belgium 2-1. Eight years later in 1980, West Germany won the tournament for the second time, beating Belgium 2-1 in the finals. It was in 1980 that UEFA Euro was expanded for the first time from four to eight teams.  Germany won their third Euro trophy (first as United Germany) in England in 1996, this time beating the Czech Republic in the final.

Spain

Spain hosted the 2nd edition of the European championship in 1964 and became the first host to win the tournament. The four-team tournament also featured the Soviet Union who lost to Spain in the finals, Hungary, and Denmark. 2008 to 2012 is considered as the most successful period in the history of La Rojas. In this period, Spain won two UEFA Euro championships and a World Cup. They beat Germany in the finals to win Euro 2008 and beat Italy by a historic 4-0 to retain the trophy, becoming the first team to successfully defend the trophy.

France

The reigning world champions are the second-most successful team in the European Championship after Germany and Spain. They have won the championship twice (once as a host). Backed by the home support, the Les Blues won the tournament for the first time in 1984, beating tournament’s favorite Spain 2-0 in the finals. The golden generation of Zinedine, Thierry Henry, Laurent Blanc, and Robert Pires that won the 1998 World Cup topped it up by winning Euro 2000, becoming the first country to hold both the World Cup and European championship.

One-Time Winners

Soviet Union was the first team to win the UEFA European Championship. The first tournament, held in France in 1960, consisted of four teams; host France, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. Soviet beat Yugoslavia 2-1 to win their only trophy. Czechoslovakia has also won the championship once in 1976 by beating defending champions West Germany. The Netherlands was the 1988 winners in West Germany, overpowering Soviet Union 2-0. Denmark and Greece 1992 and 2004 winners respectively. Reigning Portugal has also won the championship once.

Euro 2020

Euro 2020 will be the championship’s 16th edition. The first 15 editions have been won by 10 countries. Germany and Spain are the most successful countries in Europe, having won the tournament three times each. France is the third-most successful team with two wins. The other eight countries have won the Henri Delaunay Trophy only once.