European Cup

The European Football Championship is divided into two stages: qualifiers and final weeks. In addition to the event organizers who can automatically enter the final week, other 2012 European Cup mascots [1] UEFA member teams must participate in the qualifiers and qualify in the qualifiers to enter the final week. There were only four teams in the first final week of the European Championship. Until 1980, it increased to eight teams, and the final week was also joined by the group stage from the original only knockout stage. In the final week of the 1996 European Championship, it increased to 16 teams and has been maintained to this day. At present, the final week of the European Championships is divided into four groups of 16 teams. Each group has four teams. Each group has a single round-robin points system. The first and second teams in each group can qualify to the top 8 (also known as the quarterfinals). The top 8 matches are determined to participate in the semi-finals through a single elimination system. In the finals, the semi-finals are also carried out through a single-game elimination system. The winner enters the final to compete for the championship. It is worth noting that there is no third place in the European Championships, so the loser in the semi-finals does not need to compete for the third place. The final is still based on a single-game elimination system, and victory is convenient as the champion. Because the size of the European Football Championship and the quality of the participating teams are second only to the World Cup, the European Football Championship is known as the World Cup lacking Brazil and Argentina.

The European Football Championship is also known as the National Cup or European Cup. The European Football Championship began in 1958, and the first two competitions (1960 and 1964) were called the European Cup of Nations, which was later changed to its current name. The competition is generally divided into 7 groups for the preliminary competition, using a double cycle system. The first place and the host of each group participated in the final stage, expanding from the 2016 French European Cup finals to 24 teams

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History of development

UEFA was founded on June 15, 1954. The following year, the European Club Champions Cup began to be held.

In 1956, preparations began to be held with competitions attended by European national teams. Two years later, the first European Nations Cup (European Cup) qualification competition began.

The first European Cup of Nations began in 1958 and lasted for two seasons: the 1/8 finals were held in the 1958-1959 season, and the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals were held in the 1959-1960 season. The countries competing in the first competition are: Hungary, the Soviet Union, Poland, the Democratic Republic of Germany, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Spain, Bulgaria, Romania, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Ireland, France, Greece, Turkey and Norway. In 1960, the first European Nations Cup final was held in France, and a total of 16 teams participated. The final was played between the Soviet team and the Yugoslav team. The two sides drew 1-1 in 90 minutes, and the game entered overtime. The Soviet team finally won the championship by narrowly defeating Yugoslavia 2-1 with a goal in the 7 minutes before the end. Soviet team's legendary goalkeeper Lev Yassin became famous for this event.

In 1964, the final stage of the second European Nations Cup was held in Spain. The final was played between the host Spain and the defending champion Soviet Union. With the strong support of 79,115 spectators at home, Spain finally won the championship with a score of 2-1.

In 1968, the European Cup of Nations was officially renamed the European Football Championship. Thirty-one countries participated in the qualification. The final stage was held in Italy. The seeded team system was implemented for the first time in this competition. The teams participating in the final stage were divided into eight groups. Each group had a seeded team, and the top two in the group entered the quarterfinals. In the group stage, the Albanian team made a big surprise, and the popular Federal German team won the championship through overtime. The final was played between Yugoslavia and the host Italy, with a 1-1 draw between the two sides, and the Italian team won the championship through a 2-0 rematch.

In 1972, the 4th European Football Championship was held in Belgium. The final was played between the Federal Republic of Germany and the former Soviet Union, and the Federal Republic of Germany finally defeated the Soviet Union 3-0 to win the championship. Two years later, the Federal Republic of Germany won the World Cup.

In 1976, the 5th European Football Championship was held in Yugoslavia. It took 120 minutes to decide the winner in the two semi-finals. Czechoslovakia defeated the Netherlands 3:1, and West Germany defeated Yugoslavia 4-2. The final was between Czechoslovakia and the Federal Republic. Czechoslovakia finally defeated their opponents 7-5 by shooting penalty kicks and won Europe. Champion.

In 1980, the 6th European Football Championship was held in Italy. The rules of this competition have changed. It is stipulated that after the group stage, eight teams will enter the next round, and then divide into two groups to fight, and the first place in each group will automatically win the finals. The dark horse in this competition is the Belgian team. Under the leadership of coach Tis, it is composed of a group of novices. They have won consecutive victories, defeating Norway, Austria, England and Portugal, and finally defeated the host Italy to enter the final. The championship match was held between the Federal Republic of Germany and Belgium, and the Federal Republic of Germany became the last. The winner defeated Belgium 2-1 and won the European championship for the second time.

In 1984, the 7th European Football Championship was held in France. French star Platini is in the limelight. In the group stage, the French team first defeated Denmark 1-0 (Platini scored) and then defeated Belgium 5-0. Among them, Platini scored 3 goals alone, and finally played against Yugoslavia. In the case of conceded one goal in the first half, Platini, the center, scored three goals in a row, and finally won 3:2. In the semi-finals, France and Portugal played against Portugal until the minute before the end of the game, the score was still a 2:2 draw, and Platini made a make-up shot in front of the goal, giving the French team a 3-2 victory. In the other semi-final, Denmark and Spain drew 1:1 and penalty kicks, and Spain passed 5:4. In the final on June 27, Platini gave another free-kick stunt and knocked on the Spanish team's door. Although the West goalkeeper was prepared, the ball still slipped from him into the net. Before the end of the game, the French team counterattacked, 2-0. The French team that Hidalgo has been operating for eight years finally won the championship, and Platini was elected the top scorer with 9 goals. [ 2]

In 1988, the 8th European Football Championship was held in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Dutch team with football talents such as Gulit and Van Basten was unstoppable. They defeated the Soviet Union 2-0 in the final and won the championship.

In 1992, the 9th European Football Championship was held in Sweden. The Danish team, which qualified for the competition due to the withdrawal of Yugoslavia, unexpectedly reached the final and defeated Germany 2-0 in the final and won the championship unbelievably.

In 1996, the 10th European Football Championship was held in England. Previously, an unprecedented 48 countries participated in the qualification. The 16 teams that entered the final stage were divided into four groups, and the top two of the group advanced. The final was decided by a "golden ball" for the first time, and the German team finally defeated the Czech team with Bierhoff's golden ball 2-1 to win the championship for the third time. Wonderful moments of the 2008 European Championships

In 2000, the 11th European Football Championship was jointly organized by the Netherlands and Belgium. The World Cup champion France beat Italy 2-1 with two goals (one goal each for Wiltod and one goal) in the final, becoming the first team to win the European Football Championship after winning the World Cup.

In 2004, the 12th European Football Championship was hosted by Portugal. Portugal, the host team led by the Golden Generation, lost a goal to the super dark horse Greece in the final, and finally returned, and the Greek team won the championship unbelievably.

In 2008, the 13th European Football Championship was jointly organized by Austria and Switzerland. The final started at the Ernst-Happer Stadium in Vienna, Austria. Spain defeated Germany 1-0 (the goal by Torres) and won the European championship again after 44 years. It also became the first championship team to win the group stage after the French team in 1984. Wonderful moments of the 2008 European Championships

In 2012, the 14th European Football Championship was jointly organized by Poland and Ukraine. The final started at the Kiev Olympic Stadium. The defending champion Spain defeated Italy 4-0, equaling Germany's record of three championships. It also became the first team to win the European Cup and the first team to win three consecutive championships. [ 3]

In 2016, the 15th European Football Championship will be hosted by France, and the total number of teams in the final stage will increase to 24 unprecedentedly.

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Event Rules

The organizers of the European Championships directly advanced to the last 16 of the final week. Other participating teams were divided into several groups, and each group played the peripheral competition. The qualifying match will be played in a group double-round scoring system, and a total of 16 teams in each group will be able to advance to the final week. ( At the beginning of the European Championship in France in 2016, the number of teams will increase to 24 in the final week. If the points are the same, the records of the two teams will be compared. If the qualifying team cannot be determined, it is necessary to compare the number of net goals, goals and away goals in all the group stage to determine the qualifying seat.

The 16 teams that have advanced to the final week will be divided into 4 groups and play in a group single cycle. The two teams with the highest score in each group will advance to the top eight (if the points are the same, the two teams' records, the number of net wins, the number of goals scored, and the number of goals in the away game will be compared. If it is still impossible to determine the qualifying team, you need to compare all the ratios in the group stage. The number of goals in the game, the number of goals scored and the number of away goals in the game determine the qualifying seat). From the quarterfinals to the final, it is carried out in the form of a decisive victory or defeat. If it is tied within 90 minutes, it needs to be decided by overtime. There is no golden goal or silver ball system in overtime. The two teams must complete the 15 minutes of overtime and the second half. The team with more goals wins. If it is tied after extra time, they will shoot each other for 12 yards.