Great European Championship finals: From dogged Danes to slick Spain
13th Jul 10:34 am
As Spain and England get ready to lock horns in Sunday's final, we look back at three of the most memorable showdowns in European Championship history.
Denmark 2-0 Germany – Euro 1992
One of the great upsets in European Championship history came back in 1992 when the reigning world champions Germany were put to the sword by what is considered to be the golden generation of Danish football.
Armed with the trusty services of Manchester United’s Peter Schmeichel in goal and the creative brilliance of the Laudrup brothers, Brian and Michael, in midfield, Denmark had the recipe for success.
But it was John Jensen who gave the underdogs a shock lead after only 18 minutes in Gothenburg and, while the Germans huffed and puffed, Kim Vilfort sealed the deal with eight minutes to play to send Danish supporters into raptures.
The Danes have struggled to hit those heights since, although they were semi-finalists at Euro 2020, where they were beaten in extra-time by England.
Greece 1-0 Portugal – Euro 2004
Another underdog story came in 2004 courtesy of 100-1 shots Greece, who recorded a smash-and-grab 1-0 success over tournament hosts Portugal in Lisbon.
Interestingly, Greece had defeated Portugal 2-1 in the opening game of Euro 2004 and they came back to haunt them again in the final, landing the spoils thanks to Angelos Charisteas’s 57th-minute header which came from their first corner of the match.
The Greeks were valiant in defence throughout the knockout stages, keeping clean sheets in all three of their matches, a run which included a shutout against reigning champions France in the quarter-finals.
There was an eerie silence around the Estadio da Luz when the Greeks took the lead but Portugal, who had overcome England and the Netherlands in the previous two rounds, were unable to bridge the deficit, leaving the likes of Luis Figo, Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo frustrated.
Spain 4-0 Italy – Euro 2012
Spain are bidding to win a fourth European Championship title against England in Berlin and even if they manage to prevail, it will take an almighty performance from them to eclipse their efforts of 2012.
Italy were the opponents and, with Gianluigi Buffon in goal, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci keeping guard in defence and Andrea Pirlo the midfield dictator, they were considered the masters of defensive stability.
But the Azzurri were torn to pieces by a slick Spain side that dominated the midfield through Barcelona duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso.