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UEFA Euro 96
England '96
UEFA Euro 1996 logo
UEFA Euro 1996 official logo
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Tournament details
Host countryEngland England
Dates8 June – 30 June
Teams16
Venue(s)(in 8 host cities)
Final positions
ChampionsGermany Germany (3rd title)
Runner-upFlag of Czech Czech Republic
Tournament statistics
Matches played31
Goals scored64 (2.06 per match)
Attendance1,275,857 (41,157 per match)
Top scorer(s)Flag of England Alan Shearer (5 goals)
Best playerFlag of Germany Matthias Sammer
1992
2000

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. 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. Games were staged in eight cities and, although not all games were sold out, the tournament holds the European Championship's second-highest aggregate attendance (1,276,000) and average per game (41,158) for the 16-team format, surpassed only in 2012.

Germany won the tournament, beating the Czech Republic 2–1 in the final with a golden goal during extra time; this was the first major competition to be decided using this method. This was Germany's first major title won as a unified nation.

Bid process[]

At the time of the bid process, the event was still not confirmed to include sixteen teams. Instead, the bids were largely prepared as if hosting an eight-team tournament, meaning only four venues were due to be required. All candidates had to submit their plans by 10 December 1991.

The hosting of the event was contested by five bids: Austria, England, Greece, the Netherlands and Portugal. The English bid was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee at a meeting in Lisbon on 5 May 1992. In the year preceding the decision, the English FA had dropped out of their plans to also bid for the 1998 World Cup in order to gain the support of other UEFA members who were to bid for that event.

Summary[]

First round[]

The hosts, England, drew 1–1 with Switzerland in the opening match of Group A when Alan Shearer's 23rd-minute goal was equalled by a late Kubilay Türkyilmaz penalty kick. England defeated rival Scotland 2–0 in their next game, and then produced one of their finest performances ever with a 4–1 win over the Netherlands. Patrick Kluivert's late goal for the Netherlands secured his team second place in the group and ensured that Scotland would exit another major competition on goal difference.

Group B had Western European France and Spain, along with Balkan World Cup participants Romania and Bulgaria. France and Spain dominated the group, with France avenging Bulgaria for the 1994 qualification debacle, and World Cup quarter-finalists Romania going home, with no points and only one goal scored.

Groups C and D saw the Czech Republic and Croatia, whose national teams had only recently come into existence, qualify for the knockout stages. The Czechs lost to Germany, the eventual group winners, in their opener, but then defeated Italy and drew with Russia. Italy's defeat meant they had to beat Germany in their final game to progress, but the World Cup finalists could only manage a 0–0 draw and were eliminated. In Group D, Croatia qualified for the quarter-finals, with wins over Turkey (1–0) and Denmark (3–0). The loss to the Croats ultimately sent the Danes, the surprise champions of 1992, home. Turkey became the first team since the introduction of a group stage to be eliminated without gaining a point or scoring a goal.

The other three quarter-finalists were Portugal (whose "Golden Generation" was competing at its first major tournament), Spain, and a France team featuring a young Zinedine Zidane.

Quarter-finals and semi-finals[]

The knockout stages were characterised by negative, defensive play; as a result, only nine goals were scored in the seven games and four of the matches were decided on penalties. The first quarter-final between the hosts and Spain ended goalless, after Spain had two goals disallowed and two claims for a penalty denied. The English progressed 4–2 on spot kicks. France and Netherlands also played out a 0–0 draw, with France winning the penalty shootout 5–4. Jürgen Klinsmann opened the scoring for Germany in their match against Croatia. A goal from Davor Šuker evened the score after 51 minutes, before Matthias Sammer of Germany scored eight minutes later, and the game ended 2–1 to Germany. Czech Republic progressed after beating Portugal 1–0.

The first semi-final, featuring France and Czech Republic, resulted in another 0–0 draw and penalties. Reynald Pedros was the one player to miss in the shootout, as Czech Republic won the penalty shoot-out 6–5. The other semi-final was a repeat of the 1990 World Cup semi-final between Germany and England. Alan Shearer headed in, after three minutes to give his side the lead, but Stefan Kuntz evened the score less than 15 minutes later, and the score remained 1–1 after 90 minutes. In extra time, Paul Gascoigne came very close to scoring a golden goal, but fractionally missed a cross from Shearer in front of the empty goal, Darren Anderton hit the post, and Kuntz had a goal disallowed for pushing. Neither team was able to find a second goal. In penalties, both sides scored their first five kicks, but in the sixth round, Gareth Southgate had his penalty saved, allowing Andreas Möller to score the winning goal.

Final[]

The final saw the Czech Republic hoping to repeat Euro 1976 when Czechoslovakia defeated West Germany; the Germans were aiming to win their third European Championship. Patrik Berger scored from a penalty in 59th minute to put the Czechs ahead. German substitute Oliver Bierhoff then scored to make it 1–1. Five minutes into extra time, Bierhoff's shot was mishandled by Czech goalkeeper Kouba and the ball ended up in the back of the net for the first golden goal in the history of the competition. Germany were European champions again, the first time as a unified country.

Qualification[]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying

On 30 November 1992, UEFA formally decided to expand the tournament to sixteen teams. UEFA cited the increased number of international teams following the recent break up of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia – rising from 33 UEFA members in 1988 to 48 by 1994 – as a driving factor behind the expansion. Forty-seven teams ultimately entered to compete for the fifteen remaining places in the finals, alongside hosts England.

The draw for the qualifying competition took place in Manchester on 22 January 1994. The teams were divided into eight groups, each containing either six or five teams. The qualifying process began in April 1994 and concluded in December 1995. At the conclusion of the qualifying group stage in November 1994, the eight group winners qualified automatically, along with the six highest ranked second placed teams. The remaining two second placed teams – The Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland – contested a one-off play-off match in England to decide the final qualifier.

Qualified teams[]

The following sixteen teams qualified for the finals:

Country Qualified as Date qualification was secured Previous appearances in tournament1, 2
England England 00Hosts 5 May 1992 4 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1992)
Romania Romania 10Group 1 winner 15 November 1995 1 (1984)
Flag of France France 05Group 1 runners-up 15 November 1995 3 (1960, 1984, 1992)
Flag of Spain Spain 13Group 2 winner 15 November 1995 4 (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988)
Flag of Denmark Denmark 04Group 2 runners-up 15 November 1995 4 (1964, 1984, 1988, 1992)
Switzerland rectangle Switzerland 14Group 3 winner 11 October 1995 0 (debut)
Flag of Turkey Turkey 15Group 3 runners-up 15 November 1995 0 (debut)
Croatia Croatia 02Group 4 winner 15 November 1995 0 (debut)
Flag of Italy Italy 07Group 4 runners-up 15 November 1995 3 (1968, 1980, 1988)
Flag of Czech Czech Republic3 03Group 5 winner 15 November 1995 3 (1960, 1976, 1980)
Flag of Portugal Portugal 09Group 6 winner 15 November 1995 1 (1984)
Germany Germany4 06Group 7 winner 15 November 1995 6 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992)
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria 01Group 7 runners-up 15 November 1995 0 (debut)
Flag of Russia Good One Russia5 11Group 8 winner 15 November 1995 6 (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1988, 1992)
Scotland Scotland 12Group 8 runners-up 15 November 1995 1 (1992)
Netherlands Netherlands 08Play-off winner 13 December 1995 4 (1976, 1980, 1988, 1992)
1 Bold indicates champion for that year
2 Italic indicates host for that year
3 from 1960 to 1992, Czech Republic competed in the European Championship final tournament as Czechoslovakia
4 from 1972 to 1988, Germany competed in the European Championship final tournament as West Germany
5 from 1960 to 1988, Russia competed in the European Championship final tournament as the Soviet Union and in 1992 as the Commonwealth of Independent States

With the extended format, three teams were able to qualify for their first European Championship: Bulgaria, Switzerland and Turkey. Croatia and Russia competed for the first time in their own right since the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union (though the Russian team is considered by FIFA to be the direct descendant of the Soviet Union and CIS teams that had appeared in six past tournaments). Seven of the eight participants at the previous tournament in 1992 were again present, with only Sweden – despite also having finished third in the World Cup two years earlier – missing out.

Final draw[]

The draw for the final tournament took place on 17 December 1995 at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham. Only four teams were seeded: England (as hosts), Denmark (as holders), Spain and Germany. The remaining twelve teams were all unseeded and could be drawn in any group.

In the draw procedure, the unseeded teams were drawn one-by-one into each of the four groups before finally the four seeds were then drawn out. While it was decreed in advance that England's group would be Group A, the remaining three groups were then drawn out a letter to decide the name of their group, and therefore determine what venues they would play at. The balls were drawn by UEFA figures Gerhard Aigner and Lennart Johansson.

Venues[]

Since the implementation of the Taylor Report in 1990, following the 1989 Hillsborough stadium disaster, England now had enough all-seater stadia of sufficient capacity to hold an expanded tournament due to the necessary stadium refurbishment by its leading clubs. The stadium capacities listed in the table are for the time of the tournament.


Flag map of England

London
Soccer ball
Manchester
Soccer ball
Liverpool
Soccer ball
Birmingham
Soccer ball
Leeds
Soccer ball
Sheffield
Soccer ball
Newcastle
Soccer ball
Nottingham
Soccer ball
London Manchester
Wembley Stadium
Capacity: 76,567
Old Trafford
Capacity: 55,000
The Charity Shield of 1974 at Wembley - geograph.org.uk - 620498 Old Trafford march 1992
Liverpool Birmingham
Anfield
Capacity: 42,730
Villa Park
Capacity: 40,310
View of inside Anfield Stadium from Anfield Road Stand Villa Park
Leeds Sheffield Nottingham Newcastle
Elland Road
Planned capacity: 40,204
Hillsborough
Capacity: 39,859
City Ground
Capacity: 30,539
St James' Park
Capacity: 36,649
Ellandrd Sheffield Wednesday FC City Ground, Nottingham - geograph.org.uk - 83567 Bulgaria Romania Euro 96 A

Match ball[]

A custom version of the Adidas Questra, the Questra Europa, was the official match ball of the championships. The design of the ball included a reworking of the England badge, and was the first coloured ball in a major football tournament.

Match officials[]

Country Referee Assistants Matches refereed
Flag of Austria Austria Gerd Grabher Egon Bereuter Manfred Zeiszer Netherlands 1–4 England
Flag of Belarus Belarus Vadim Zhuk Yury Dupanau Aleh Chykun France 1–1 Spain
Flag of Belgium Belgium Guy Goethals Marc Van Den Broeck Stany Op De Beeck Italy 0–0 Germany
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Atanas Uzunov Ivan Borissov Lekov Iordan Yordanov Switzerland 0–0 Netherlands
Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic Václav Krondl Milan Brabec Otakar Drastik Scotland 1–0 Switzerland
Flag of Denmark Denmark Peter Mikkelsen
Kim Milton Nielsen
Jens Larsen
Carl-Johan Christensen Meyer
Henning Knudsen
Torben Siersen
Bulgaria 1–0 Romania
Russia 0–3 Germany
Flag of England England David Elleray
Dermot Gallagher
Anthony Bates
Philip Joslin
Peter Walton
Mark Warren
Germany 2–0 Czech Republic
France 3–1 Bulgaria
Flag of France France Marc Batta Pierre Ufrasi Jacques Mas Croatia 3–0 Denmark
Spain 0–0 England (Quarter-final)
Flag of Germany Germany Hellmut Krug
Bernd Heynemann
Klaus Plettenberg
Hans Wolf
Egbert Engler
Harald Sather
Romania 0–1 France
Czech Republic 1–0 Portugal
Croatia 0–3 Portugal
Flag of Hungary Hungary Sándor Puhl Laszlo Hamar Imre Bozóky Portugal 1–0 Turkey
England 1–1 Germany (Semi-final)
Flag of Italy Italy Pierluigi Pairetto
Piero Ceccarini
Donato Nicoletti
Enrico Preziosi
Tullio Manfredini
Fabrizio Zanforlin
Spain 1–1 Bulgaria
Czech Republic 1–2 Germany (Final)
Scotland 0–2 England
Flag of Netherlands Netherlands Mario van der Ende Jan Dolstra Berend Talens Denmark 1–1 Portugal
Flag of Portugal Portugal José Rosa dos Santos Valdemar Aguiar Pinto Lopes Antonio Guedes Gomes De Carvalho Sweden 2–1 England
Flag of Russia Russia Nikolai Levnikov Serguei Foursa Sergei Frantsuzov Turkey 0–3 Denmark
Flag of Scotland Scotland Leslie Mottram Robert Orr John Fleming Italy 2–1 Russia
France 0–0 Czech Republic (Semi-final)
Flag of Spain Spain Manuel Díaz Vega
Antonio López Nieto
Joaquin Olmos Gonzalez
Victoriano Giraldez Carrasco
Paolo Calcagno
Manuel Lopez Fernandez
England 1–1 Switzerland
Czech Republic 2–1 Italy
France 0–0 Netherlands (Quarter-final)
Flag of Sweden Sweden Anders Frisk
Leif Sundell
Mikael Nilsson
Kenneth Petersson
Sten Samuelsson
Mikael Hansson
Russia 3–3 Czech Republic
Netherlands 0–0 Scotland
Germany 2–1 Croatia (Quarter-final)
Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Serge Muhmenthaler Ernst Felder Martin Freiburghaus Turkey 0–1 Croatia
Flag of Turkey Turkey Ahmet Çakar Akif Ugurdur Turgay Güdü Romania 1–2 Spain
Fourth officials
Country Fourth officials
Flag of Austria Austria Günter Benkö
Flag of Belgium Belgium Michel Piraux
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria Stefan Ormandjiev
Flag of Belarus Belarus Kazimir Znaydinsky
Flag of Czech Republic Czech Republic Jiři Ulrich
Flag of Denmark Denmark Knud Erik Fisker
Lars Gerner
Flag of England England Paul Durkin
Stephen Lodge
Flag of France France Alain Sars
Flag of Germany Germany Hermann Albrecht
Hartmut Strampe
Flag of Hungary Hungary Sándor Piller
Flag of Italy Italy Marcello Nicchi
Alfredo Trentalange
Flag of Netherlands Netherlands René Temmink
Flag of Portugal Portugal Jorge Emanuel Monteiro Coroado
Flag of Russia Russia Serguei Khussainov
Flag of Scotland Scotland Hugh Dallas
Flag of Spain Spain José María García-Aranda
Juan Ansuategui Roca
Flag of Sweden Sweden Karl-Erik Nilsson
Morgan Norman
Flag of Switzerland Switzerland Urs Meier
Flag of Turkey Turkey Oğuz Sarvan

Results[]

Group stage[]

The teams finishing in the top two positions in each of the four groups progress to the quarter-finals, while the bottom two teams in each group were eliminated from the tournament.

For the first time at a European Championship three points were awarded for a win, with one for a draw and a none for a defeat. If two or more teams were equal on points on completion of the group matches, the following criteria were applied to determine the rankings:

  1. Higher number of points obtained in the matches played between the teams in question;
  2. Superior goal difference resulting from the matches played between the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal on points);
  3. Higher number of goals scored in the matches played between the teams in question (if more than two teams finish equal on points);
  4. If, after having applied criteria 1 to 3 to more than two teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 3 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine the final rankings of the two teams. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 5 to 9 apply in the order given;
  5. Superior goal difference in all group matches;
  6. Higher number of goals scored in all group matches;
  7. Position using UEFA's national team coefficient ranking system calculated using average points per game from: the Euro 1992 qualifying stage and final tournament, the 1994 World Cup qualifying stage and final tournament and the Euro 1996 qualifying stage.
  8. Fair play conduct of the teams (final tournament);
  9. Drawing of lots.
Key to colours in group tables
Team progressed to the quarter-finals

Group A[]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 Group A
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
England England 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7
Netherlands Netherlands 3 1 1 1 3 4 −1 4
Scotland Scotland 3 1 1 1 1 2 −1 4
Switzerland rectangle Switzerland 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
8 June 1996
England England 1–1 Switzerland rectangle Switzerland
10 June 1996
Netherlands Netherlands 0–0 Scotland Scotland
13 June 1996
Switzerland Switzerland rectangle 0–2 Netherlands Netherlands
15 June 1996
Scotland Scotland 0–2 England England
18 June 1996
Scotland Scotland 1–0 Switzerland rectangle Switzerland
Netherlands Netherlands 1–4 England England

Group B[]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 Group B
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of France France 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
Flag of Spain Spain 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria 3 1 1 1 3 4 –1 4
Romania Romania 3 0 0 3 1 4 –3 0
9 June 1996
Spain Flag of Spain 1–1 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
10 June 1996
Romania Romania 0–1 Flag of France France
13 June 1996
Bulgaria Flag of Bulgaria 1–0 Romania Romania
15 June 1996
France Flag of France 1–1 Flag of Spain Spain
18 June 1996
France Flag of France 3–1 Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
Romania Romania 1–2 Flag of Spain Spain

Group C[]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 Group C
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Germany Germany 3 2 1 0 5 0 +5 7
Flag of Czech Czech Republic 3 1 1 1 5 6 –1 4
Flag of Italy Italy 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
Flag of Russia Good One Russia 3 0 1 2 4 8 –4 1
9 June 1996
Germany Germany 2–0 Flag of Czech Czech Republic
11 June 1996
Italy Flag of Italy 2–1 Flag of Russia Good One Russia
14 June 1996
Czech Republic Flag of Czech 2–1 Flag of Italy Italy
16 June 1996
Russia Flag of Russia Good One 0–3 Germany Germany
19 June 1996
Russia Flag of Russia Good One 3–3 Flag of Czech Czech Republic
Italy Flag of Italy 0–0 Germany Germany

Group D[]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 Group D
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Flag of Portugal Portugal 3 2 1 0 5 1 +4 7
Croatia Croatia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +1 6
Flag of Denmark Denmark 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
Flag of Turkey Turkey 3 0 0 3 0 5 –5 0
9 June 1996
Denmark Flag of Denmark 1–1 Flag of Portugal Portugal
11 June 1996
Turkey Flag of Turkey 0–1 Croatia Croatia
14 June 1996
Portugal Flag of Portugal 1–0 Flag of Turkey Turkey
16 June 1996
Croatia Croatia 3–0 Flag of Denmark Denmark
19 June 1996
Croatia Croatia 0–3 Flag of Portugal Portugal
Turkey Flag of Turkey 0–3 Flag of Denmark Denmark

Knockout stage[]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 knockout stage

The knockout stage 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 entering that round, culminating in the final to decide the champions.

Any game in the knockout stage that was undecided by the end of the regular 90 minutes, was followed by up to thirty minutes of extra time (two 15-minute halves). For the first time in a major football competition, the golden goal system was applied, whereby the match would immediately end upon either team scoring during the extra time period with the goalscoring team becoming the winner. If scores were still level after 30 minutes extra time, there would be a penalty shoot-out (at least five penalties each, and more if necessary) to determine the winner.

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                   
22 June – Liverpool        
 Flag of France France (p)  0 (5)
26 June – Manchester
 Netherlands Netherlands  0 (4)  
 Flag of France France  0 (5)
23 June – Birmingham
     Flag of Czech Czech Republic (p)  0 (6)  
 Flag of Czech Czech Republic  1
30 June – London
 Flag of Portugal Portugal  0  
 Flag of Czech Czech Republic  1
23 June – Manchester    
   Germany Germany (aet)  2
 Germany Germany  2
26 June – London
 Croatia Croatia  1  
 Germany Germany (p)  1 (6)
22 June – London
     England England  1 (5)  
 Flag of Spain Spain  0 (2)
 England England (p)  0 (4)  
 

All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

Quarter-finals[]

22 June 1996
16:00
Spain Flag of Spain 0–0
(a.e.t.)
England England Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 75,440
Referee: Marc Batta (France)
Report
  Penalties  
Hierro Missed
Amor Soccerball shad check
Belsué Soccerball shad check
Nadal Missed
2–4 Soccerball shad check Shearer
Soccerball shad check Platt
Soccerball shad check Pearce
Soccerball shad check Gascoigne

22 June 1996
19:30
France Flag of France 0–0
(a.e.t.)
Netherlands Netherlands Anfield, Liverpool
Attendance: 37,465
Referee: Antonio López Nieto (Spain)
Report
  Penalties  
Zidane Soccerball shad check
Djorkaeff Soccerball shad check
Lizarazu Soccerball shad check
Guérin Soccerball shad check
Blanc Soccerball shad check
5–4 Soccerball shad check de Kock
Soccerball shad check R. de Boer
Soccerball shad check Kluivert
Missed Seedorf
Soccerball shad check Blind

23 June 1996
16:00
Germany Germany 2–1 Croatia Croatia Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 43,412
Referee: Leif Sundell (Sweden)
Klinsmann Goal 20' (pen.)
Sammer Goal 59'
Report Šuker Goal 51'

23 June 1996
19:30
Czech Republic Flag of Czech 1–0 Flag of Portugal Portugal Villa Park, Birmingham
Attendance: 26,832
Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)
Poborský Goal 53' Report

Semi-finals[]

26 June 1996
17:00
France Flag of France 0–0
(a.e.t.)
Flag of Czech Czech Republic Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 43,877
Referee: Leslie Mottram (Scotland)
Report
  Penalties  
Zidane Soccerball shad check
Djorkaeff Soccerball shad check
Lizarazu Soccerball shad check
Guérin Soccerball shad check
Blanc Soccerball shad check
Pedros Missed
5–6 Soccerball shad check Kubík
Soccerball shad check Nedvěd
Soccerball shad check Berger
Soccerball shad check Poborský
Soccerball shad check Rada
Soccerball shad check Kadlec

26 June 1996
20:30
Germany Germany 1–1
(a.e.t.)
England England Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 75,862
Referee: Sándor Puhl (Hungary)
Kuntz Goal 16' Report Shearer Goal 3'
  Penalties  
Häßler Soccerball shad check
Strunz Soccerball shad check
Reuter Soccerball shad check
Ziege Soccerball shad check
Kuntz Soccerball shad check
Möller Soccerball shad check
6–5 Soccerball shad check Shearer
Soccerball shad check Platt
Soccerball shad check Pearce
Soccerball shad check Gascoigne
Soccerball shad check Sheringham
Missed Southgate

Final[]

Main article: UEFA Euro 1996 Final
30 June 1996
20:00
Czech Republic Flag of Czech 1–2
(a.e.t.)
Germany Germany Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 73,611
Referee: Pierluigi Pairetto (Italy)
Berger Goal 59' (pen.) Report Bierhoff Goal 73' Golden goal 95'

Statistics[]

Goalscorers[]

Alan Shearer received the Golden Boot award for scoring five goals. In total, 64 goals were scored by 48 different players, with only one of them credited as own goal.

5 goals
3 goals

2 goals

  • Flag of Germany Matthias Sammer
  • Flag of Italy Pierluigi Casiraghi
1 goal

  • Flag of Portugal Sá Pinto
  • Flag of Romania Florin Răducioiu
  • Flag of Russia Vladimir Beschastnykh
  • Flag of Russia Aleksandr Mostovoi
  • Flag of Russia Omari Tetradze
  • Flag of Russia Ilya Tsymbalar
  • Flag of Scotland Ally McCoist
  • Flag of Spain Alfonso
  • Flag of Spain Guillermo Amor
  • Flag of Spain José Luis Caminero
  • Flag of Spain Javier Manjarín
  • Flag of Switzerland Kubilay Türkyilmaz
Own goal
  • Flag of Bulgaria Lyuboslav Penev (playing against France)

Awards[]

Team of the Tournament
Goalkeepers Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Flag of England David Seaman
Flag of Germany Andreas Köpke
Flag of Czech Republic Radoslav Látal
Flag of France Laurent Blanc
Flag of France Marcel Desailly
Flag of Germany Matthias Sammer
Flag of Italy Paolo Maldini
Flag of Czech Republic Karel Poborský
Flag of England Steve McManaman
Flag of England Paul Gascoigne
Flag of France Didier Deschamps
Flag of Germany Dieter Eilts
Flag of Portugal Rui Costa
Flag of Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov
Flag of Croatia Davor Šuker
Flag of Czech Republic Pavel Kuka
Flag of England Alan Shearer
Flag of France Youri Djorkaeff
Golden Boot

Alan Shearer was awarded the Golden Boot award, after scoring five goals in the group stage and in the semi-finals against Germany.

UEFA Player of the Tournament
  • Flag of Germany Matthias Sammer

Fastest goal[]

2 minutes and 14 seconds: Alan Shearer (England vs Germany)

Average goals[]

2.06 goals per game

Marketing[]

Slogan and theme songs[]

The competition slogan was Football Comes Home reflecting that the sport's rules were first standardised in the United Kingdom. UEFA President Lennart Johansson had said that the organisation had felt it time to bring the event "back to the motherland of football". The slogan was incorporated into the competition's most popular song: "Three Lions" recorded by comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel with the Lightning Seeds. Skinner and Baddiel were then strongly connected with football owing to their BBC show Fantasy Football League. Released as a single, the song topped the UK Singles Chart for a total of three weeks. It was promoted by a video featuring the England squad.

The song was prominently sung by England fans during all their games, and was also chanted by the German team upon parading the trophy in Berlin after the tournament. It was even referenced by future Prime Minister Tony Blair in an address at the 1996 Labour Party Conference with the line: "Seventeen years of hurt, never stopped us dreaming, Labour's coming home".

Despite Three Lions being the song most strongly connected with the tournament, its official song was instead "We're in This Together" by Simply Red. The song was performed at the tournament's opening ceremony.

Merchandise and mascots[]

The British Royal Mint issued a commemorative £2 coin in 1996, which featured a representation of a football, "1996" in the centre, and 16 small rings representing the 16 competing teams. Further special coins were only issued in the Isle of Man and Gibraltar.

The official mascot, 'Goaliath', was designed in a similar fashion to the original World Cup mascot from the 1966 World Cup. Goaliath comprised a lion, the image on the English team crest, dressed in an England football strip and football boots whilst holding a football under his right arm.

Sponsorship[]

Global sponsors Event sponsors
  • Canon
  • Carlsberg
  • Coca-Cola
  • Fujifilm
  • JVC
  • MasterCard
  • McDonalds
  • Philips
  • Snickers
  • Vauxhall Motors
  • Umbro

Controversies[]

Terrorist attack[]

A terrorist attack took place in Manchester on 15 June, one day before the group stage match between Germany and Russia was due to take place in the same city. The detonation of a van bomb in the city centre injured 212 people and caused an estimated £700 million worth of damage. Four days after the blast, the Provisional Irish Republican Army issued a statement in which it claimed responsibility, but regretted causing injury to civilians.

The Manchester bombing was the first and so far only major terrorist attack in the host city of an ongoing UEFA European Championship. The scheduled match at Old Trafford on the day following the bombing went ahead as planned after the stadium had been heavily guarded overnight and carefully searched; the game, in which Germany defeated Russia 3–0, was watched by a near capacity crowd of 50,700.

Disorder[]

After England's defeat to Germany in the semi-finals, a large-scale riot took place in Trafalgar Square and the surrounding area. Further outbreaks of trouble occurred in the streets of several other towns. The police, German-made cars were targeted, with damage also caused to various other properties. A Russian student was stabbed in Brighton after attackers mistook him for being German.

Despite this outbreak, the tournament overall was free of hooliganism, helping rehabilitate England's reputation after their fans' conduct during the previous decades. UEFA's awarding of the tournament to England was in itself a further step in bringing back the country back fully into the international fold, coming soon after their decision in 1990 to re-admit English clubs back into UEFA competitions after the indefinite ban issued to them following the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.

External links[]

UEFA Euro 1996
Stages

Group A · Group B · Group C · Group D · Group E · Group F · Knockout phase · Final

General information

Squads · Qualification

UEFA Euro 1996 stadiums

Anfield · City Ground · Elland Road · Hillsborough Stadium · Old Trafford · St James' Park · Villa Park · Wembley Stadium

UEFA European Championship
Tournaments
France 1960 · Spain 1964 · Italy 1968 · Belgium 1972 · Yugoslavia 1976 · Italy 1980 · France 1984 · West Germany 1988 · Sweden 1992 · England 1996 · Belgium/Netherlands 2000 · Portugal 2004 · Austria/Switzerland 2008 · Poland/Ukraine 2012 · France 2016 · Pan-European 2020 · Germany 2024 · TBA 2028 · TBA 2032
Finals
1960 · 1964 · 1968 · 1972 · 1976 · 1980 · 1984 · 1988 · 1992 · 1996 · 2000 · 2004 · 2008 · 2012 · 2016 · 2020 · 2024
Qualification
1960 · 1964 · 1968 · 1972 · 1976 · 1980 · 1984 · 1988 · 1992 · 1996 · 2000 · 2004 · 2008 · 2012 · 2016 · 2020 · 2024 ·
Squads
1960 · 1964 · 1968 · 1972 · 1976 · 1980 · 1984 · 1988 · 1992 · 1996 · 2000 · 2004 · 2008 · 2012 · 2016 · 2020 · 2024 ·
Other
Video games
National football teams of Europe (UEFA)

Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · England · Estonia · Faroe Islands · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Gibraltar · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Republic of Ireland · Israel · Italy · Kazakhstan · Kosovo · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Northern Ireland · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia · San Marino · Scotland · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Turkey · Ukraine · Wales

International football
FIFA · World Cup · Confederations Cup · U-20 World Cup · U-17 World Cup · Minor tournaments · World Rankings · Player of the Year · Teams · Competitions · Federations · Codes
Confederation Competitions
AFC Asian Cup
CAF Africa Cup of Nations
CONCACAF Gold Cup
CONMEBOL Copa América
OFC Nations Cup
UEFA European Championship
Non-FIFA N.F.-Board · Viva World Cup

Template:1995–96 in English football

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