Euro 2012

Euro 2012 was a 16-team international football tournament held between 8th June and 1st July 2012. Held in Poland and Ukraine, with games being held in four venues in each country, Euro 2012 was the 14th running of the UEFA European Championships. A total of 51 teams entered the initial qualifying stages, with 14 eventually joining the two host nations in the finals. 

The 16 qualifying nations were divided into four groups of four, with each team playing every other within their group in a round-robin format. Teams were awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw. After their three games, the top two ranked teams from each group qualified for the next round. If teams finished with the same number of points, goal difference was used to decide who progressed from the group stage. Only two teams failed to pick up a single point during the group stages. These were the Republic of Ireland and 2010 World Cup finalists the Netherlands.

The Czech Republic topped group A but were beaten 1-0 in the quarter-finals by Portugal, who finished second in Group B. The other Group A qualifiers, Greece, who had shocked the world when they won the 2004 tournament, were defeated 4-2 in their quarter-final against Group B winners Germany. Euro 2008 winners Spain finished top of Group C and defeated Group D runners up France 2-0, with Xabi Alonso scoring both goals. In the last quarter-final, England, who topped Group D, were beaten on penalties by Italy, who finished behind Spain in Group C.

In the semi-finals, Spain beat Portugal on penalties after a 0-0 draw, with Cesc Fabregas converting the final spot kick. In the other semi-final Germany lost their 100% record to Italy, who beat them 2-1, former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli scoring both goals. In the final, held at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Spain were at their brilliant best defeating Italy 4-0 and recording their third major trophy win in succession. 

Six players topped the goal scoring charts, each with three goals. The most notable of these was Mario Mandžukić of Croatia, who amazingly managed to finish joint-top scorer despite his team failing to advance beyond the group stages. The Golden Boot award went to Fernando Torres of Spain, who added two assists to his three goals. Torres's teammate Andrés Iniesta was awarded the player of the tournament accolade.

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