European Football Championship 2012

As with the previous edition, the fourteenth UEFA European Championship was held in two countries. This time, Poland and Ukraine had the honor, and both countries strived to make the organization of this European Championship the best so far.

Qualifications

The qualification format for this European Championship was slightly changed compared to the previous one. This time, 51 national teams participated. They were divided into nine groups, with six teams in six groups and five teams in three groups. Group winners and the best second-placed team from all groups secured direct qualification to the final tournament. The remaining eight second-placed teams went to the playoffs, where, after two matches, four more teams would qualify for Poland and Ukraine.

Germany convincingly took first place in Group A, while Turkey was second after ten qualifying rounds. Russia was the best in Group B, and the Republic of Ireland secured a spot in the playoffs. Italy was the best in Group C, and a big surprise came from Estonia, which took second place with one point more than Serbia, securing two additional matches to qualify for the European Championship. In Group D, France was the best, but they only had one point more than Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Group E, the Netherlands was first with 27 points, while Sweden, with 24 points, was the best second-placed team, securing direct qualification for the European Championship. Greece was first in Group F, followed by Croatia. In Group G, England easily took first place, with Montenegro finishing second. In Group H, Denmark secured first place, while Portugal secured a spot in the playoffs. Finally, in Group I, Spain convincingly took first place, with the Czech Republic in second place.

In the additional playoff matches for qualification to the European Championship, Croatia defeated Turkey, the Republic of Ireland had an easy job against Estonia, the Czech Republic beat Montenegro, and Portugal eliminated Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Host Country

Poland and Ukraine were the joint hosts of this European Championship. In Ukraine, the best European football was played in Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, and Kharkiv. Poland offered its hospitality in Warsaw, Wrocław, Gdańsk, and Poznań.

Participating Teams

Through the qualifications and additional playoff matches, the teams that secured their participation in this European Championship were Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, England, Russia, France, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland. Poland and Ukraine had direct qualifications as hosts.

Group Stage

The teams were divided into four groups of four, with the best two teams advancing to the quarter-finals.

Poland, Greece, Russia, and the Czech Republic competed in Group A. In a fairly balanced group, the Czech Republic took first place, while the second place went to Greece, which had the same number of points as Russia but defeated them in their head-to-head match. Group B hosted the teams of the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, and Portugal. Germany was dominant and took first place, while Portugal took second place. Group C featured Spain, Italy, the Republic of Ireland, and Croatia. In this group, the favorites advanced – Spain took first place, and Italy was second. Group D consisted of Ukraine, Sweden, France, and England. England managed to secure first place in this group, with France finishing second, thus also advancing to the quarter-finals.

Warsaw. Photo: unsplash.com.

Knockout Stage

Portugal and the Czech Republic faced off in the first quarter-final match. The Portuguese were better and won 1-0. In the second match of this round, Germany was convincing against Greece, winning 4-2. In the big quarter-final derby, Spain and France met. The Spaniards celebrated a 2-0 victory thanks to Alonso’s goals. Finally, in another big quarter-final match, the winner between Italy and England was decided by penalties as it was 0-0 after 120 minutes of play. After the penalties, Italy was better and advanced to the semi-finals.

The semi-final duels featured matches between Portugal, Spain, Germany, and Italy. In the first duel, the Spaniards and the Portuguese played a tough game, ending 0-0 after 90 minutes and extra time. The Spaniards had more skill and luck in the penalty shootout and advanced to the final. In the second semi-final, the Italians, with goals from Balotelli in the 20th and 36th minutes, were better than the Germans, for whom Mesut Ozil scored a consolation goal in the match’s final minutes.

Final

The final of this European Championship was held at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, with Spain and Italy vying for the European crown. The Spaniards were defending their title, and the question was whether they would have the strength to be the best in Europe again. They showed that they were indeed the dominant team at that time, defeating Italy very convincingly. The score was 4-0, with goals from Silva, Alba, Torres, and Mata for Spain.

The stadium in Kyiv where the final was held. Photo: pixabay.com

Statistics

The best player of the European Championship was Spanish player Andres Iniesta. Interestingly, six players shared the top scorer title with three goals each: Fernando Torres, Alan Dzagoev, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mario Balotelli, Mario Gomez, and Mario Mandzukic.

Interesting Facts

Spain became the first team to defend the European champion title by winning this European Championship. Their achievement is even greater considering that they also won the World Cup in 2010, making it the first time a team held two consecutive European titles and was the best in the world simultaneously. This is certainly a feat that will be hard to repeat in the near future.