The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The final tournament was hosted for the first time in Portugal, from 12 June to 4 July 2004. A total of 31 matches were played in ten venues across eight cities – Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Guimarães, Faro/Loulé, Leiria, Lisbon, and Porto.
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 June 1996. It was the first European Championship to feature 16 finalists, following UEFA's decision to expand the tournament from eight teams.
The Sweden men's national football team represents Sweden in men's international football and it is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body of football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Friends Arena in Solna. From 1945 to late 1950s, they were considered one of the greatest teams in Europe.
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA. It took place in Austria and Switzerland from 7 to 29 June 2008.
The Romania national football team represents Romania in men's international football, and is administered by the Romanian Football Federation, also known as FRF. They are colloquially known as Tricolorii.
The Switzerland national football team represents Switzerland in men's international football. The national team is controlled by the Swiss Football Association.
Kim Milton Nielsen is a Danish former international football referee. An IT manager by trade, Nielsen is noted for his impressive height of 1.96 m, making him taller than most players. Nielsen began refereeing at 15 years of age, as he wanted to know the Laws of Football. A decade later, he began taking charge of Danish top-flight games, and he was awarded his FIFA international badge in 1988 when he was still in his late 20s.
Frank De Bleeckere is a Belgian former football referee. He had been a referee since 1984, and an international (FIFA) official since 1998. De Bleeckere refereed in his first World Cup finals in Germany, and had to pass a late fitness test following injury. He had been appointed by UEFA as one of twelve referees to officiate UEFA Euro 2008 matches, and was in charge of the semi-final between Spain and Russia.
At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the knockout stage was the second and final stage of the tournament, following the group stage. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination tournament. A third place match was also played between the two losing semi-finalists.
The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored either in the final or penultimate minute of regulation time or extra time, or during stoppage time or injury time.
The Denmark–Sweden football rivalry is a highly competitive sports rivalry that exists between the national men's football teams of Denmark and Sweden. The clashes between the two neighbouring countries has since the very first match in 1913 attracted large crowds that have witnessed several spectacular games and controversial incidents, despite the fact that the two teams very seldom have met in any of the larger international football tournaments. Sweden leads the series 46–20–41.
The England national football team did not enter the first three FIFA World Cup tournaments but have entered all 19 subsequent ones, beginning with that of 1950. They have failed to qualify for the finals on three occasions – 1974, 1978 (Argentina) and 1994 – and have failed to advance from the group stage on three occasions: in 1950, 1958 and 2014. Their best performance is winning the cup as the host nation in 1966; they also finished in fourth place in 1990 in Italy, and in 2018 in Russia. Other than these, the team have also reached the quarter-finals on seven other occasions, the latest of which was in 2022 in Qatar.
The UEFA European Championship is one of the major competitive international football tournaments, first played in 1960. The finals stage of the tournament takes place every four years, with a qualifying competition beforehand. The sixteenth tournament was held across Europe in 2021.
Milorad Mažić is a former Serbian international association football referee. He became a FIFA referee in 2009. Beside working in the Serbian football league system, Mažić officiated numerous matches in the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League, as well as the 2016 UEFA Super Cup. He refereed matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2016, 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. He was selected as a referee for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He was awarded a Silver Medal for Merits of the Republic of Serbia. He was selected the best Serbian referee nine times in a row.
The history of the Portugal national football team dates back to its first match on 18 December 1921. The national team, also referred to as Seleção das Quinas, represents the nation of Portugal in international football. It is fielded by the Portuguese Football Federation and competes as one of the founding members of UEFA.
The history of the Netherlands national football team began when the Netherlands played their first international match on 30 April 1905 in Antwerp against Belgium. The game went into extra time, in which the Dutch scored three times, making the score 4–1 for the Dutch side, winning the Coupe Vanden Abeele.
Romania have appeared at five UEFA European Championships between 1984 and 2016, with an upcoming sixth appearance in 2024. Their best performance so far was reaching the quarter-finals of Euro 2000, when they were eliminated by eventual tournament runners-up Italy.
The UEFA Euro 2016 Final was the final match of Euro 2016, the fifteenth edition of the European Football Championship, UEFA's quadrennial competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Stade de France in Paris, France, on 10 July 2016, and was contested by Portugal and France. The 24-team tournament began with a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout phase. En route to the final, Portugal finished third in Group F, with draws against Iceland, Austria and Hungary. Portugal then defeated Croatia in the last 16 before beating Poland in the quarter-final after a penalty shoot-out. They progressed to the final after beating Wales in the semi-final. France finished the group stage as winners of Group A, beating Romania and Albania before drawing with Switzerland. In the knockout rounds, France defeated the Republic of Ireland and Iceland before beating Germany in the semi-final.
As founder members of UEFA, the governing body for all football in Europe, the Wales national football team has participated in all but one UEFA European Championship since it began as the European Nations' Cup in 1960. The tournament has been played every four years since then, with qualifying matches being played in the two years before each tournament.
