1996 European Football Championship
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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:
BulgariaCroatia Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Italy Netherlands |
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England automatically qualified for the tournament as hostFor 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
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'''
England''' | 1 - 1 (1-0) | '''
Switzerland''' | 15:00 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Manuel Diaz Vega (Spain) |
| Shearer 23' | Türkyilmaz (p) 84' |
'''
Netherlands''' | 0 - 0 (0-0) | '''
Scotland''' | 16:30 - Villa Park, Birmingham Ref: Leif Sundell (Sweden) |
'''
Switzerland''' | 0 - 2 (0-0) | '''
Netherlands''' | 19:30 - Villa Park, Birmingham Ref: Atanas Uzunov (Bulgaria) |
| Cruyff 66' | |||
| Bergkamp 79' |
'''
Scotland''' | 0 - 2 (0-0) | '''
England''' | 15:00 - Wembley Stadium, London Ref: Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy) |
| Shearer 53' | |||
| Gascoigne 79' |
Group B
|width=40%| |}Group C
|width=40%| |}Group D
|width=60%| |}Knockout stages
Quarter-finals
June 22, 1996Semi-finals
June 26, 1996Final
June 30, 1996
Statistics
Goal scorers
5 GoalsAlan Shearer3 Goals
Jürgen KlinsmannDavor Šuker Brian Laudrup Hristo Stoichkov 2 Goals
Oliver BierhoffMatthias Sammer Teddy Sheringham Pierluigi Casiraghi
UEFA Team of the Tournament
Goalkeepers
Andreas KoepkeDavid Seaman Defenders
Colin HendryFernando Couto Dieter Eilts Paolo Maldini Matthias Sammer Midfielders
Youri DjorkaeffPaul Gascoigne Karel Poborsky Steve McManaman Jose Luis Caminero Manuel Rui Costa Forwards
Hristo StoichkovBrian Laudrup Alan Shearer Davor Šuker UEFA MVP of the Tournament
Steve McManamanUEFA 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
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