EURO 2016 - 15. 07. 2016
UEFA EURO 2016 was held in France in June/July 2016. Final tournament was full of interesting surprises and breath-taking matches. Fans will not remember only winning course of Portugal, but also fantastic effort of new teams in the final round.
EURO 2016 - First big gold for Portugal
Final tournament of UEFA EURO 2016 was held between 10th June and 10th July 2016 in ten french cities, offering great experience for all football fans of Europe. It was the very first time 24 teams to compete in the final tournament, so fans could have enjoy even more action.
The 24 competitors were divided into 6 groups. First and second team of every group made the way to the play offs, followed by the very best four teams on third places of group stage.Graceful ride of novices
Several new teams that never played on the final tournament had surprised everybody. Let´s name Iceland for example. Underrated team from the island with no more than 300 000 inhabitants made it to the quarter finals after amazing 2:1 win against England just round before.
The second big surprise of the tournament was national team of Hungary with their main star - Gabor Király, who made it to become one of the trademarks of this tournament. Fans haven´t notice him only because of his long trackpants, but also for his fantastic performances during the tournament. Hungary made it to 1/16 finals, loosing it 0:4 to Belgium.
And the least, but not the last, team Wales. For the very first time on the final round, Wales secured first place in Group B, with two wins and one loss. Knocking out Northern Ireland in 1/16 finals and favored Belgium in quarter finals, the fantastic ride of Bale and Co. enden in semi finals, losing it to Portugal, later winner of the entire tournament.First sweet golden night for Portugal
The winner of the entire tournament is Portugal national team. One must say that team led by Cristiano Ronaldo didn´t play the most attractive football, but their style was attractive enough to secure their first gold medals from big international event. Team Portugal squeezed to play off stage from the third place of their group, with only 3 points for 3 draws. And their draw-parade went on during play offs. In 1/16 finals, Portugal won 1:0 in extra time against Croatia.
Quarter finals against Poland ended by a penalty shootout, 5:3 for Portugal. The curse of draws was broken in semi finals against Wales. Portugal won 2:0 and made it to the finals against France, which was home team of the tournament.
The golden miracle of lucky Portugese team was completed in breath-taking final match, which was won 1:0 after goal by Eder from 109th minute of the match.
2020 – First of its kind
Next European championship will be held in 2020 in 13 different European countries including England, Germany, Italy, Russia, Azebraijan, Dennmark, Romania, Hungary, Ireland, Glasgow, Spain, Netherlands and Brussels. This unique system, which has never been used before, shall remain 60th anniversary of UEFA EURO championships.
