Biggest EURO Cup Upsets in Recent Tournaments

Don’t you just love it when an underdog wins? Here are some of the biggest EURO Cup upsets in the recent history of the tournament.

(Image credit: European Parliament News)

EURO 1992: Denmark Wins the Tournament

(Image credit: The Football Department)

This is the only time in the history of European Championships that a country won the tournament without ever qualifying for it. Denmark lifted the EURO trophy in 1992, however they finished second in their qualifying group, behind Yugoslavia Soon after the qualifiers ended, Yugoslavia fell apart and heavy sanctions were imposed on them, which restricted them from participating in EURO 1992. This freed up a place for Denmark at the tournament, and they went on to impress against a number of sides. They beat France in the group stage and The Netherlands in the semi-finals, while in the final they overcame the ultimate odds by beating the world champions Germany 2-0, which made this one of the biggest EURO Cup upsets.

EURO 2000: No Luck for Holland

(Image credit: UEFA)

Holland is a side that boasts superstars in every generation, but they rarely seem able to accomplish anything with them. During EURO 2000, which Belgium and The Netherlands hosted, Holland enjoyed a good run in the group stage, clinching 9 points from the three games, and they even managed to defeat world champions France 3-2 in the process. The hosts overcame Romania in the quarter-finals, which only reaffirmed their position as one of the tournament favorites.

However, their luck ran out when they met Italy in the semis. After 90 minutes, the score-sheet showed 0-0, which saw the match go into overtime and eventually to penalties, after no goals found the back of the net. Out of four penalties for the Dutch, it was only the iconic Kluivert who converted from the spot kick. The Italians were celebrating as they bagged three in the Netherlands’ net, with only Maldini missing his chance.

EURO 2008: Turkish Delight

(Image credit: Zimbio)

Croatia entered EURO 2008 with sublime form as they finished their qualifying group first with 9 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. In the tournament itself they swooped through the group stage with ease as they won all of their three games, against hosts Austria, Poland and Germany. This automatically made them one of the tournament favorites, however they hit a brick wall when they faced Turkey in the quarter-finals. No one at the time predicted this match was going to be one of the biggest EURO Cup upsets.

Fatih Terim’s men came out of their group with 2 wins and 1 defeat, which they suffered against Portugal. At that time they had a number of promising players, however they didn’t enjoy the same level of form that Croatia was in at the time. Nonetheless, the quarter-final between the two countries was anything but easy for either side, as the game went into overtime and was riddled with drama. Croatia’s Klasnic scored in the 119th minute, which made everyone believe it was all over, for a very brief moment. Just as euphoria was about to erupt on Croatia’s bench, Turkey’s Semih scored an equaliser in the 122nd minute of the game, killing off hope for Slaven Bilic’s side. This saw the match go on to penalties, which Turkey easily converted, while Croatia missed 3 of their 4 chances, giving their opponents the final win.

EURO 2008:  Holland Really Has No Luck

(Image credit: Zimbio)

Just like EURO 2000, the Netherlands dominated Group C in EURO 2008 by sealing all of the 9 points, against Italy, Romania and France. Many believed that this could have been their tournament, but their luck evaporated when they faced Russia – a side that qualified for the competition after England were defeated by Croatia in the qualifiers.

Then soon-to-be Tottenham man Pavlyuchenko found the back of the net in the 56th minute, which kept the Dutch on their toes until Van Nistelrooy scored an equaliser four minutes before the end. The game went to overtime, and in the 112th minute Torbini added his name to the score-sheet, while Arshavin served the final blow with his 116th minute strike. The match ended 3-1 for Russia making this one of the biggest EURO Cup upsets, and once again saw the Dutch side not realize their full potential.

EURO 2004: Greece Crowned Champions

(Image credit: Everything is Futbol)

The 2004 tournament held in Portugal saw one of the biggest EURO Cup upsets in the history of the competition. Greece won the final against hosts Portugal, which saw them lift their first-ever EURO Cup trophy. Nobody could have predicted this before the tournament started, but as soon as it did they hit the ground running. In the opening game of EURO 2004 they faced Portugal, and managed to prevail over the odds by beating them 2-1. This was quite shocking as, the only other tournaments that they’ve entered before that were EURO 1980 and FIFA 1994, both of which ended without a single win for them. Later, in the knockout phase, Greece defeated then European champions France 1-0, which saw them proceed to the semi-finals where they overcame the Czech Republic with a 1-0 win as well. This ultimately led them to the final against Portugal, where they were crowned champions after a 1-0 win over the hosts.