The European Championship is a prestigious prize, after the World Cup, that every team of the land wishes to have in their trophy cabinet. Since 1960, the competition has been a matter of pride and has brought the same amount of urge among teams for the silverware as the global tournament. The Euros has its own decorated history with some spectacular moments that have defined eras in continental football. The Euro 2024 will be the 17th edition competition hosted in Germany for the second time.
Overall, the Men’s Euros has been won by 10 teams. Of them, only four have gone on to lift the trophy more than once. Germany and Spain claimed it three times making them the two most successful teams in Euro history. La Roja are the only team to have won consecutive titles. The Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece and Portugal have won one title each. From them, The Netherlands, Denmark and Greece have reached one final each and managed to win. Here are the Most Successful Teams in European Championship History:
4. Italy - 2 (1968, 2021)
The holders Italy have won the Euros twice in their history with their first title coming in the third edition of the competition in 1968. In that year, the tournament was renamed from the "European Nations' Cup" to the "European Championship". However, it continued to be contested by four teams: Yugoslavia, England and the Soviet Union. The Azzurri took on the latter in the semi-final and won with an unfamiliar style via a coin toss, penalty shootout did not exist at the moment, as it finished 0-0 after extra time. The team beat Yugoslavia at their home ground in Rome in a replayed final 2-0 to lift the trophy. Italy played two more Euro finals after this but only after the turn of the century. However, their second success in the competition came 53 years after their first when Italy stayed unbeaten for the entire campaign and beat England in a dramatic penalty shootout, having gone down in the first minute, in the final at Wembley.
3. France- 2 (1984, 2000)
France reached three finals in the Euros since entering for the first time in 1984. Les Blues hosted that edition and beat Spain in the final 2-0, winning all the matches in the campaign. It was the same edition that Michel Platini created a record of scoring the most goals in a single tournament with nine including two hat tricks in the group stages. Three editions later, France again reached the showpiece with another illustrative generation of players and defeated Italy this time with David Trezeguet getting the winner in extra time through the now-defunct ‘Golden Goal’ rule. The side was captained by Didier Deschamps who as a manager guided his nation to their latest final in 2016 in their ground. Despite being favourites, Deschamps failed to be only the second person to win the Euros as a player and a manager in competition history and repeat their debut title win after losing to Portugal 1-0 in extra time. Having won all the matches before the final, the defeat was painful.
2. Spain - 3 (1964, 2008, 2012)
The most successful team in the Euro Championship this century, Spain has won the titles three times including in back-to-back fashion in 2008 and 2012. So far, no team has ever successfully defended the trophy in the competition's history. La Roja's first honour came in 1964, in only the second edition, when they defeated the inaugural winners, the Soviet Union. Spain had to wait for 20 years to reach another showpiece but this time faced defeat at the hands of France. Their real prominence came when a group of generational talent set an era of dominance on the international stage. The team won their second title in 2008 unbeaten with Fernando Torres scoring the only goal in the final against Germany. Spain displayed their true potential in the competition four years later crushing Italy 4-0, the biggest winning margin in a Euro final. The win completed their unprecedented treble in international football having also won the World Cup in 2010. Their revolutionary ‘tiki-taka’ or short-passing style became the basis of football for top teams around the world.
1. Germany - 3 (1972, 1980, 1996)
Like Spain, Germany has tasted success three times in the Euros. However, they have played in more final matches than any other side and collected the most wins in the competition's history. All the Euro titles for Germany came before the turn of the century, reaching just one final in the last 24 years. As West Germany then, the side played consecutive finals from 1972 to 1980 which no side has ever managed. They won their debut final in 1972 defeating the regular participant Soviet Union 3-0 with legendary goal-scorer Gerd Muller scoring a brace, captained by the recent demise Franz Beckenbauer. While the side lost the next final to Czechoslovakia on penalties, the 2-1 success over Belgium defined their era in the competition. Germany took sweet revenge over the Czech Republic in the 1996 final, having suffered a surprise final loss against Denmark in the previous edition, with Oliver Bierhoff becoming the third German to score a brace in the showpiece in the 2-0 win. With this victory, Berti Vogts also became the first person to win the Euros as a manager and a player having won it in 1972.
