UEFA Euro 1996 knockout stage

Last updated January 15, 2026

The knockout stage of UEFA Euro 1996 was a single-elimination tournament involving the eight teams that qualified from the group stage of the tournament. There were three rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams, culminating in two teams playing in the final to determine the winners of the tournament. The knockout stage began with the quarter-finals on 22 June and ended with the final on 30 June 1996 at Wembley Stadium in London. Germany won the tournament with a 2–1 victory over the Czech Republic achieved by a golden goal during extra time.^[1]

Format

Any game in the knockout stage that was undecided by the end of the regular 90 minutes, was followed by up to 30 minutes of extra time (two 15-minute halves). For the first time in a major football competition, the golden goal rule was applied, whereby the match would immediately end upon either team scoring during the extra time period and the goalscoring team being declared the winner. If scores were still level after 30 minutes of extra time, there would be a penalty shoot-out to determine who progressed to the next round. As with every tournament since UEFA Euro 1984, there was no third place play-off.

Qualified teams

The top two placed teams from each of the four groups qualified for the knockout stage.

Group	Winners	Runners-up
A	England	Netherlands
B	France	Spain
C	Germany	Czech Republic
D	Portugal	Croatia

Bracket

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

22 June – Liverpool

France (p)	0 (5)
		26 June – Manchester
Netherlands	0 (4)
		France	0 (5)
23 June – Birmingham
		Czech Republic (p)	0 (6)
Czech Republic	1
				30 June – London
Portugal	0
				Czech Republic	1
23 June – Manchester
				Germany (g.g.)	2
Germany	2
		26 June – London
Croatia	1
		Germany (p)	1 (6)
22 June – London
		England	1 (5)
Spain	0 (2)

England (p)	0 (4)

Quarter-finals

Spain vs England

22 June 1996

15:00

Spain	0–0 (a.e.t.)	England
	Report
Penalties
Hierro Amor Belsué Nadal	2–4	Shearer Platt Pearce Gascoigne

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 75,440^[2]

Referee: Marc Batta (France)

Spain

England


GK	1	Andoni Zubizarreta (c)
SW	6	Fernando Hierro
CB	4	Rafael Alkorta		72'
CB	20	Miguel Ángel Nadal
CB	5	Abelardo	1'
RM	3	Alberto Belsué	40'
CM	18	Guillermo Amor
LM	12	Sergi
AM	17	Javier Manjarín		46'
CF	19	Julio Salinas		46'
CF	14	Kiko
Substitutions:
FW	11	Alfonso	50'	46'
MF	15	José Luis Caminero		46'
DF	2	Juanma López		72'
Manager:
Javier Clemente


GK	1	David Seaman
RB	2	Gary Neville	47'
CB	5	Tony Adams (c)
CB	6	Gareth Southgate
LB	3	Stuart Pearce
RM	17	Steve McManaman		109'
CM	7	David Platt
CM	8	Paul Gascoigne
LM	11	Darren Anderton		109'
SS	10	Teddy Sheringham		109'
CF	9	Alan Shearer
Substitutions:
MF	14	Nick Barmby		109'
MF	20	Steve Stone		109'
FW	21	Robbie Fowler		109'
Manager:
Terry Venables

Man of the Match:
David Seaman (England)^[3]

Assistant referees:
Pierre Ufrasi (France)
Jacques Mas (France)
Fourth official:
Alain Sars (France)

France vs Netherlands

22 June 1996

18:30

France	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Netherlands
	Report
Penalties
Zidane Djorkaeff Lizarazu Guérin Blanc	5–4	De Kock De Boer Kluivert Seedorf Blind

Anfield, Liverpool

Attendance: 37,465^[4]

Referee: Antonio López Nieto (Spain)

France

Netherlands


GK	1	Bernard Lama
RB	15	Lilian Thuram
CB	5	Laurent Blanc
CB	8	Marcel Desailly
LB	12	Bixente Lizarazu
DM	19	Christian Karembeu	48'
DM	7	Didier Deschamps (c)	7'
CM	6	Vincent Guérin
AM	10	Zinedine Zidane
AM	9	Youri Djorkaeff
CF	11	Patrice Loko		61'
Substitutions:
FW	13	Christophe Dugarry		61'	80'
MF	18	Reynald Pedros			80'
Manager:
Aimé Jacquet


GK	1	Edwin van der Sar
RB	2	Michael Reiziger
CB	18	Johan de Kock	68'
CB	3	Danny Blind (c)
LB	15	Winston Bogarde	90'
DM	20	Philip Cocu
RM	6	Ronald de Boer
LM	14	Richard Witschge		80'
AM	17	Jordi Cruyff		69'
CF	10	Dennis Bergkamp		60'
CF	9	Patrick Kluivert	89'
Substitutions:
MF	4	Clarence Seedorf		60'
MF	12	Aron Winter		69'
FW	19	Youri Mulder		80'
Manager:
Guus Hiddink

Man of the Match:
Bernard Lama (France)^[3]

Assistant referees:
Victoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain)
Manuel López Fernández (Spain)
Fourth official:
Juan Ansuátegui Roca (Spain)

Germany vs Croatia

23 June 1996

15:00

Germany	2–1	Croatia
Klinsmann 20' (pen.) Sammer 59'	Report	Šuker 51'

Old Trafford, Manchester

Attendance: 43,412^[5]

Referee: Leif Sundell (Sweden)

Germany

Croatia


GK	1	Andreas Köpke
SW	6	Matthias Sammer	5'
CB	14	Markus Babbel
CB	5	Thomas Helmer
DM	21	Dieter Eilts
RM	2	Stefan Reuter
CM	8	Mehmet Scholl		88'
CM	7	Andreas Möller
LM	17	Christian Ziege
SS	9	Fredi Bobic		46'
CF	18	Jürgen Klinsmann (c)	7'	39'
Substitutions:
MF	4	Steffen Freund		39'
FW	11	Stefan Kuntz		46'
MF	10	Thomas Häßler		88'
Manager:
Berti Vogts


GK	1	Dražen Ladić
RB	2	Nikola Jurčević		78'
CB	4	Igor Štimac	56'
CB	6	Slaven Bilić
LB	3	Robert Jarni
DM	5	Nikola Jerkan
RM	13	Mario Stanić
CM	7	Aljoša Asanović
LM	10	Zvonimir Boban (c)
CF	19	Goran Vlaović
CF	9	Davor Šuker
Substitutions:
MF	16	Mladen Mladenović		78'
Manager:
Miroslav Blažević

Man of the Match:
Matthias Sammer (Germany)^[3]

Assistant referees:
Kenneth Petersson (Sweden)
Mikael Hansson (Sweden)
Fourth official:
Karl-Erik Nilsson (Sweden)

Czech Republic vs Portugal

23 June 1996

18:30

Czech Republic	1–0	Portugal
Poborský 53'	Report

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 26,832^[6]

Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)

Czech Republic

Portugal


GK	1	Petr Kouba
SW	15	Michal Horňák
RB	2	Radoslav Látal	82'
CB	3	Jan Suchopárek	1'
CB	5	Miroslav Kadlec
LB	13	Radek Bejbl	55'
DM	7	Jiří Němec
RM	8	Karel Poborský
CM	6	Václav Němeček (c)		90'
LM	17	Vladimír Šmicer	23'	85'
CF	9	Pavel Kuka	69'
Substitutions:
MF	12	Luboš Kubík		85'
MF	14	Patrik Berger		90'
Manager:
Dušan Uhrin


GK	1	Vítor Baía (c)
RB	2	Secretário	59'
CB	16	Hélder Cristóvão	10'
CB	5	Fernando Couto
LB	13	Dimas Teixeira
CM	4	Oceano Cruz		65'
CM	19	Paulo Sousa
RW	20	Luís Figo		82'
AM	10	Rui Costa
LW	8	João Pinto	90'
CF	9	Sá Pinto	40'	46'
Substitutions:
FW	15	Domingos		46'
MF	18	António Folha		65'
FW	11	Jorge Cadete		82'
Manager:
António Oliveira

Man of the Match:
Karel Poborský (Czech Republic)^[3]

Assistant referees:
Klaus Plettenberg (Germany)
Egbert Engler (Germany)
Fourth official:
Hermann Albrecht (Germany)

Semi-finals

France vs Czech Republic

26 June 1996

16:00

France	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Czech Republic
	Report
Penalties
Zidane Djorkaeff Lizarazu Guérin Blanc Pedros	5–6	Kubík Nedvěd Berger Poborský Rada Kadlec

Old Trafford, Manchester

Attendance: 43,877^[7]

Referee: Leslie Mottram (Scotland)

France

Czech Republic


GK	1	Bernard Lama
RB	15	Lilian Thuram	43'	83'
CB	5	Laurent Blanc (c)
CB	8	Marcel Desailly
LB	20	Alain Roche	50'
RM	10	Zinedine Zidane
CM	14	Sabri Lamouchi		62'
CM	6	Vincent Guérin
LM	12	Bixente Lizarazu	64'
SS	9	Youri Djorkaeff
CF	11	Patrice Loko
Substitutions:
MF	18	Reynald Pedros		62'
DF	2	Jocelyn Angloma		83'
Manager:
Aimé Jacquet


GK	1	Petr Kouba
SW	5	Miroslav Kadlec
CB	15	Michal Horňák
CB	19	Karel Rada
DM	7	Jiří Němec		84'
DM	20	Pavel Novotný
RM	8	Karel Poborský
CM	6	Václav Němeček (c)	83'
LM	4	Pavel Nedvěd	77'
AM	17	Vladimír Šmicer		46'
CF	10	Radek Drulák		70'
Substitutions:
MF	14	Patrik Berger		46'
DF	18	Martin Kotůlek		70'
MF	12	Luboš Kubík	97'	84'
Manager:
Dušan Uhrin

Man of the Match:
Miroslav Kadlec (Czech Republic)^[3]

Assistant referees:
Robert Orr (Scotland)
John Fleming (Scotland)
Fourth official:
Hugh Dallas (Scotland)

Germany vs England

26 June 1996

19:30

Germany	1–1 (a.e.t.)	England
Kuntz 16'	Report	Shearer 3'
Penalties
Häßler Strunz Reuter Ziege Kuntz Möller	6–5	Shearer Platt Pearce Gascoigne Sheringham Southgate

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 75,862^[8]

Referee: Sándor Puhl (Hungary)

Germany

England


GK	1	Andreas Köpke
SW	6	Matthias Sammer
CB	14	Markus Babbel
CB	5	Thomas Helmer		110'
RM	2	Stefan Reuter	46'
CM	4	Steffen Freund		118'
CM	21	Dieter Eilts
LM	17	Christian Ziege
AM	8	Mehmet Scholl		77'
AM	7	Andreas Möller (c)	80'
CF	11	Stefan Kuntz
Substitutions:
MF	10	Thomas Häßler		77'
MF	3	Marco Bode		110'
MF	19	Thomas Strunz		118'
Manager:
Berti Vogts


GK	1	David Seaman
RB	7	David Platt
CB	6	Gareth Southgate
CB	5	Tony Adams (c)
LB	3	Stuart Pearce
DM	4	Paul Ince
RM	11	Darren Anderton
LM	17	Steve McManaman
AM	8	Paul Gascoigne	73'
SS	10	Teddy Sheringham
CF	9	Alan Shearer
Manager:
Terry Venables

Man of the Match:
Dieter Eilts (Germany)^[3]

Assistant referees:
László Hamar (Hungary)
Imre Bozóky (Hungary)
Fourth official:
Sándor Piller (Hungary)

Final

30 June 1996

19:00

Czech Republic	1–2 (a.e.t./g.g.)	Germany
Berger 59' (pen.)	Report	Bierhoff 73', 95'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 73,611

Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy)

Czech Republic

Germany


GK	1	Petr Kouba
RB	15	Michal Horňák	47'
CB	3	Jan Suchopárek
CB	5	Miroslav Kadlec (c)
LB	19	Karel Rada
RM	8	Karel Poborský		88'
CM	7	Jiří Němec
CM	13	Radek Bejbl
LM	4	Pavel Nedvěd
AM	14	Patrik Berger
CF	9	Pavel Kuka
Substitutions:
MF	17	Vladimír Šmicer		88'
Manager:
Dušan Uhrin


GK	1	Andreas Köpke
SW	6	Matthias Sammer	69'
RB	14	Markus Babbel
CB	5	Thomas Helmer	63'
LB	17	Christian Ziege	91'
DM	19	Thomas Strunz
DM	21	Dieter Eilts		46'
AM	8	Mehmet Scholl		69'
AM	10	Thomas Häßler
CF	11	Stefan Kuntz
CF	18	Jürgen Klinsmann (c)
Substitutions:
MF	3	Marco Bode		46'
FW	20	Oliver Bierhoff		69'
Manager:
Berti Vogts

Man of the Match:
Karel Poborský (Czech Republic)^[3]

Assistant referees:^[9]
Donato Nicoletti (Italy)
Tullio Manfredini (Italy)
Fourth official:
Marcello Nicchi (Italy)

References

↑ "Full Statistical Info on Euro '96". RSSSF.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 3 July 1996. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
↑ Moore, Glenn (24 June 1996). "Fortune favours brave England". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Man of the Match". UEFA Euro 96 England – Technical Report (PDF). Nyon: UEFA. 1996. p. 48. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
↑ Turnbull, Simon (24 June 1996). "Fitful France advance". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
↑ Shaw, Phil (24 June 1996). "Croatia punished by Sammer". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
↑ Culley, Jon (24 June 1996). "Poborsky piques Portugal". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
↑ Shaw, Phil (27 June 1996). "France are sent home by Kadlec". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
↑ Moore, Glenn (27 June 1996). "Shoot-out breaks England hearts". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
↑ "UEFA Euro 1996 – History – Czech Republic-Germany". UEFA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2017.

External links

UEFA Euro 1996 official history

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[1] "Full Statistical Info on Euro '96". RSSSF.com. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 3 July 1996. Retrieved 14 April 2017.

[esp-eng_report-2] Moore, Glenn (24 June 1996). "Fortune favours brave England". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.

[motm-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Man of the Match". UEFA Euro 96 England – Technical Report (PDF). Nyon: UEFA. 1996. p. 48. Retrieved 7 January 2023.

[fra-ned_report-4] Turnbull, Simon (24 June 1996). "Fitful France advance". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.

[ger-cro_report-5] Shaw, Phil (24 June 1996). "Croatia punished by Sammer". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.

[cze-por_report_96-6] Culley, Jon (24 June 1996). "Poborsky piques Portugal". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.

[fra-cze_report-7] Shaw, Phil (27 June 1996). "France are sent home by Kadlec". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 21 June 2012.

[ger-eng_report-8] Moore, Glenn (27 June 1996). "Shoot-out breaks England hearts". The Independent. Independent Print. Retrieved 20 June 2012.

[officials-9] "UEFA Euro 1996 – History – Czech Republic-Germany". UEFA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 26 December 2017.

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v t e UEFA Euro 1996
Stages	Qualification Group stage Group A Group B Group C Group D Knockout stage Final
General information	Squads Statistics
Official symbols	Questra Europa (ball) Goaliath (mascot) UEFA Euro 96 England (video game) "We're in This Together" (song) The Beautiful Game (album)

UEFA Euro 1996 knockout stage

Contents

Format

Qualified teams

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Spain vs England

France vs Netherlands

Germany vs Croatia

Czech Republic vs Portugal

Semi-finals

France vs Czech Republic

Germany vs England

Final

References

External links