The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 July 2012, was co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine (both first time hosts), and was won by Spain, who beat Italy in the final at the Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.
Poland and Ukraine's bid was chosen by the UEFA Executive Committee on 18 April 2007. The two host teams qualified automatically while the remaining 14 finalists were decided through a qualifying competition, featuring 51 teams, from August 2010 to November 2011. This was the last European Championship to employ the 16-team finals format in use since 1996; from Euro 2016 onward, it was expanded to 24 finalists.
Euro 2012 was played at eight venues, four in each host country. Five new stadiums were built for the tournament, and the hosts invested heavily in improving infrastructure such as railways and roads at UEFA's request. Euro 2012 set attendance records for the 16-team format, for the highest aggregate attendance (1,440,896) and average per game (46,481).
Spain became the first team to win two consecutive European Championships, and also three straight major tournaments (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012). Spain had already gained entry to the 2013 Confederations Cup by winning the World Cup, so runners-up Italy qualified instead. As at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, both 2012 host nations were eliminated in the group stage.
There were several players ending on a total of 3 goals but because Fernando Torres made an assist and played the fewest minutes of the players who scored three goals, he was named as the Golden Boot winner for the tournament.
Venues[]
| Stadiums | Location | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Poland | ||
| Stadion Narodowy | Warsaw | 58,580 |
| Stadion Wrocław | Wrocław | 45,105 |
| PGE Arena | Gdańsk | 43,615 |
| Stadion Miejski | Poznań | 43,269 |
| Ukraine | ||
| Olympic Stadium | Kyiv | 70,050 |
| Donbass Arena | Donetsk | 52,187 |
| Metalist Stadium | Kharkiv | 40,003 |
| Arena Lviv | Lviv | 34,915 |
Participating teams[]
| Qualifier group | Team | Qualified as |
|---|---|---|
| N/A | Poland | co-host countries |
| Ukraine | ||
| Group A | Germany | winner |
| Group B | Russia | winner |
| Group C | Italy | winner |
| Group D | France | winner |
| Group E | Netherlands | winner |
| Sweden | best runner-up | |
| Group F | Greece | winner |
| Group G | England | winner |
| Group H | Denmark | winner |
| Group I | Spain | winner (title holders) |
| Play-offs | Croatia | winner |
| Republic of Ireland | winner | |
| Czech Republic | winner | |
| Portugal | winner |
List of games[]
Group stage[]
| Date | Venue | Winner | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A | ||||
| 8 June 2012 | Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw | Poland | 1–1 (draw) |
Greece |
| Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław | Russia | 4–1 | Czech Republic | |
| 12 June 2012 | Czech Republic | 2–1 | Greece | |
| Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw | Poland | 1–1 (draw) |
Russia | |
| 16 June 2012 | Stadion Wrocław, Wrocław | Czech Republic | 1–0 | Poland |
| Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw | Greece | 1–0 | Russia | |
| Group B | ||||
| 9 June 2012 | Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv | Denmark | 1–0 | Netherlands |
| Arena Lviv, Lviv | Germany | 1–0 | Portugal | |
| 13 June 2012 | Portugal | 3–2 | Denmark | |
| Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv | Germany | 2–1 | Netherlands | |
| 17 June 2012 | Portugal | 2–1 | Netherlands | |
| Arena Lviv, Lviv | Germany | 2–1 | Denmark | |
| Group C | ||||
| 10 June 2012 | PGE Arena, Gdańsk | Spain | 1–1 (draw) |
Italy |
| Stadion Miejski, Poznań | Croatia | 3–1 | Republic of Ireland | |
| 14 June 2012 | Italy | 1–1 (draw) |
Croatia | |
| PGE Arena, Gdańsk | Spain | 4–0 | Republic of Ireland | |
| 18 June 2012 | Spain | 1–0 | Croatia | |
| Stadion Miejski, Poznań | Italy | 2–0 | Republic of Ireland | |
| Group D | ||||
| 11 June 2012 | Donbass Arena, Donetsk | France | 1–1 (draw) |
England |
| Olympic Stadium, Kyiv | Ukraine | 2–1 | Sweden | |
| 15 June 2012 | Donbass Arena, Donetsk | France | 2–0 | Ukraine |
| Olympic Stadium, Kyiv | England | 3–2 | Sweden | |
| 19 June 2012 | Donbass Arena, Donetsk | England | 1–0 | Ukraine |
| Olympic Stadium, Kyiv | Sweden | 2–0 | France | |
Knockout stage[]
| Date | Venue | Winner | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | ||||
| 21 June 2012 | Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw | Portugal | 1–0 | Czech Republic |
| 22 June 2012 | PGE Arena, Gdańsk | Germany | 4–2 | Greece |
| 23 June 2012 | Donbass Arena, Donetsk | Spain | 2–0 | France |
| 24 June 2012 | Olympic Stadium, Kyiv | Italy | 0–0 (a.e.t.) 4–2 (penalties) |
England |
| Semi-finals | ||||
| 27 June 2012 | Donbass Arena, Donetsk | Spain | 0–0 (a.e.t.) 4–2 (penalties) |
Portugal |
| 28 June 2012 | Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw | Italy | 2–1 | Germany |
| Final | ||||
| 1 July 2012 | Olympic Stadium, Kyiv | Spain | 4–0 | Italy |
Broadcasters[]
UEFA member nations[]
| Country | Broadcasters |
|---|---|
| Albania | RTSH |
| Armenia | ARMTV |
| Austria | ORF |
| Azerbaijan | AzTV, CJSC |
| Belarus | BTRC |
| Belgium | RTBF, VRT |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT |
| Bulgaria | BNT, BNR |
| Croatia | HRT |
| Cyprus | CyBC |
| Czech Republic | ČT, ČRo |
| Denmark | DR, TV 2, TV4 Group |
| Estonia | ERR |
| Finland | Yle, MTV3 |
| France | TF1, M6, beIN Sports, Radio France, RMC, Europe 1, RTL, RFI |
| Georgia | GPB |
| Germany | ARD, ZDF, RTL |
| Greece | ERT |
| Hungary | MTV, MR |
| Iceland | RÚV |
| Ireland | RTÉ |
| Israel | Charlton Ltd., IBA |
| Italy | RAI |
| Kazakhstan | Kazakhstan TV, Channel One Eurasia, JSC |
| Latvia | LTV, LR |
| Lithuania | LRT |
| Macedonia | MRT |
| Malta | PBS |
| Moldova | TRM |
| Montenegro | RTCG |
| Netherlands | NOS |
| Norway | NRK, TV 2, TV4 Group |
| Poland | TVP, Polskie Radio |
| Portugal | RTP, SIC, TVI, SportTV, TSF, Rádio Renascença |
| Romania | TVR, Dolce, ROR |
| Russia | Channel One, VGTRK |
| Serbia | RTS |
| Slovakia | RTVS |
| Slovenia | RTVSLO |
| Spain | Mediaset España, RNE, SER, COPE, Simply Sport, Onda Cero, Radio Marca, ABC Punto Radio |
| Sweden | SVT, TV4, Canal Digital, SR |
| Switzerland | SRG SSR |
| Turkey | TRT |
| Ukraine | NTU, Ukrayina, NRU |
| United Kingdom | BBC, ITV, STV, UTV, Absolute Radio, talkSPORT |
Rest of the world[]
| Country | Broadcasters |
|---|---|
| Caribbean | ESPN |
| Latin America | DirecTV, Televideo Services |
| Middle East and North Africa | Al Jazeera Sport |
| Pacific Islands | Sky Pacific |
| South Asia | NEO Sports |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | SuperSport |
| Australia | SBS, Setanta Sports |
| Bangladesh | Maasranga TV |
| Brazil | Organizações Globo, Rede Bandeirantes, ESPN Brasil |
| Brunei | Astro |
| Canada | CTV, TSN, RDS, TLN |
| Chile | Chilevisión, Telecanal |
| China | CCTV, Guangdong TV |
| Colombia | RCN Televisión |
| Costa Rica | Repretel |
| Fiji | Fiji Television |
| Hong Kong | Now TV, TVB |
| Indonesia | RCTI, Indovision |
| Iran | IRIB |
| Japan | TBS, WOWOW |
| Kosovo | RTK |
| Macau | TDM |
| Malaysia | Astro, Media Prima |
| Maldives | TVM, VTV |
| Mexico | TV Azteca, Televisa |
| Mongolia | ETV, TV9 |
| Myanmar | Sky Net |
| Pakistan | PTV |
| Papua New Guinea | EM TV |
| Philippines | Solar Entertainment Corporation |
| Singapore | StarHub TV |
| South Africa | SuperSport |
| South Korea | IB Sports |
| Thailand | GMM Grammy, Channel 3, Channel 5, Modernine TV |
| United States | ESPN |
| Uruguay | Tenfield |
| Venezuela | Meridiano Televisión |
| Vietnam | K+, VTV |