5 Оf The Best European Football Championship Matches

This summer, the best teams from across the continent will once again compete for the Euro 2024 title. After a semifinal and a Round of 16 appearance, hosts Germany, will try to delight their supporters with a fourth title. Meanwhile, Italy faces the challenging task of defending their trophy from the last championship.

As we count down the days until the start of the competition, let's take a nostalgic journey back in time to explore 5 of the best ever matches in the European Championships history. Undoubtedly, the list could be much bigger and there are historic matches that will always be remembered and remain part of football history.

France 2-1 Italy (Euro 2000, final)

Image credits: Imago

The Euro 2000 final, which was held in Belgium and the Netherlands, pitted France and Italy against each other.

Two years earlier, France won the World cup and players like Zinedine Zidane, David Trezeguet, Youri Djorkaeff and Thierry Henry were again featured in their starting line-up with Roger Lemerre serving as the team manager.

In the final match, they faced Italy, led by Dino Zoff and comprised of several European stars, such as Paolo Maldini, Francesco Totti and Alessandro Del Piero.

The match was played at the De Kuip Stadium in Rotterdam with the nearly 50,000 spectators in the stands witnessing a tough battle on the pitch. Marco Delvecchio opened the scoring in the 55th minute and Italy took a 1-0 lead.

After a series of lapses by the French players, fortune smiled on them in the 4th minute of added time when Sylvain Wiltord leveled the score, sending the match into extra time.

In the 103rd minute, after a pass outside the penalty area, Robert Pires found an uncovered David Trezeguet, who scored with a thunderous shot, sealing a 2-1 victory and securing the title for France.

Denmark 2-0 Germany (Euro 1992, final)

Image credits: Imago

The ninth European Championship will be remembered as the first championship in which the champion is a team that did not qualify directly for the competition.

After playing in the Euro qualifiers, Denmark finished second in their group, with Yugoslavia qualifying as first. However, due to the outbreak of the Yugoslav wars and the collapse of the country, the country's national team was disqualified and its place was taken by the second team in the group, Denmark.

Considered by many as underdogs, the Danes made a real splash at the Euros, knocking out the previous Euro champion, the Netherlands, in the semi-finals to reach the final match against Germany (playing as a united country for the first time).

The final was played on 26 June 1992. Despite a strong performance from Klinsmann and his teammates, Germany suffered a defeat after two goals from Jensen and Vilfort.

Portugal 0-1 Greece (Euro 2004, final)

Image credits: Imago

Euro 2004 took place in Portugal and had all the prerequisites to offer exciting matches for football fans. Group A consisted of 4 teams, including Portugal and Greece, that ironically, not only opened the European Championship but also played against each other in the final.

Portugal's team, led by Luiz Figo and Deco, recorded victories in the knockout stage against England and the Netherlands, setting up a rematch against the tournament's surprise, Greece, in the final.

The final match was played at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon in front of nearly 63,000 spectators. In the 57th minute, Charisteas scored for Greece to make it 1-0, which proved enough for the Greeks to win the match, much to the disappointment of Portugal and their young star, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Czechoslovakia 5-3 West Germany (Euro 1976, final)

Image credits: Imago

The former Yugoslavia was chosen to host the fifth edition of the European Football Championship, featuring only four teams participating in the final stage in 1976.

In the semi-finals, Czechoslovakia defeated the Netherlands 3-1, whilst West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) emerged victorious against hosts Yugoslavia, winning 4-2 after extra time.

The championship final was played on 20 June in Belgrade and the packed stands witnessed a real football spectacle. In the 8th minute, Švehlík opened the scoring for Czechoslovakia, and in the 25th minute, Dobias made the score 2-0. West Germany found the strength to get back into the game, and Muller reduced the lead to 2-1, only for Hölzenbein's equalizer to come in the 89th minute.

The winner of the match would then be decided after a penalty shootout. West Germany scored their first three penalties, but Uli Hönes missed the fourth. It was then Panenka's turn to take the penalty, which he played brilliantly and fouled goalkeeper Sepp Meyer, bringing the win for his team.

Turkey 3-2 Czech Republic (Euro 2008, group stage)

Image credits: Imago

For the grand finale, let’s spotlight a match from the Euro 2008 group phase, which took place in Austria and Switzerland. Group A of the tournament included the teams of Portugal, Turkey, the Czech Republic and hosts, Switzerland.

In the first match, the Czech Republic defeated Switzerland by a minimum of 1:0. However, in the second, they suffered a heavy loss 1:3 to Portugal, whose line-up included Pepe, Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo.

On the other hand, Turkey lost their first match 0:2 to Portugal but beat Switzerland 2:1 a few days later. Thus, the decisive match for the direct knockout rounds was the clash between Turkey and the Czech Republic, which would determine the second finalist of the group.

The match was played at the Stade de Geneva, and the Czech Republic took a two-goal lead after goals from Kohler (34') and Plasil (62'). By all appearances, the match had a foregone conclusion, but late in the game, Turkey made one of the biggest splashes of the European Championships and turned the match from 0:2 to 3:2 after a late goal by Arda and two goals by Nihat (87' and 89').

In the end, Turkey went on to progress in the championship, reaching the semi-final, where they lost to Germany 0-1.

Euro 2024 - What to Expect?

The upcoming edition of the EURO 2024 is set to bring immense excitement to football fans this summer. The 24 finalist teams vow to deliver unforgettable matches full of twists and turns.

At Betano, you now have the opportunity to choose your favorite on our official EURO 2024 betting page, with bets on the Euro 2024 winner, along with many other types of online sports betting.