After the early elimination of the Spaniards at the 1998 World Cup , qualification for the 2000 European Championship finals began with a failure. The highly favored Iberians lost 3-2 to Cyprus , which subsequently led to the resignation of long-time national coach Javier Clemente . José Antonio Camacho took over and led the national team to the European Championship finals in 2000 with seven wins from as many games. A 9-0 win against Austria on March 27, 1999 caused a sensation .
A surprising 1-0 defeat in their first game against Norway after a serious goalkeeping error by José Francisco Molina meant that the Spaniards absolutely needed a win in their last match against Yugoslavia despite a 2-1 win against Slovenia in their second game to advance to the quarterfinals. In an exciting game, the Iberians seemed almost eliminated when Slobodan Komljenović scored 3-2 for Yugoslavia in the 75th minute. However, a penalty from Gaizka Mendieta and another goal from Alfonso in stoppage time brought promotion to the quarter-finals.
Quarter finals
June 25, 2000
Bruges
France
-
Spain
2: 1 (2: 1)
France – Spain was the most dramatic of the four quarter-finals. The French took advantage of their few chances through Zinédine Zidane and Youri Djorkaeff in the first half. In the meantime, Gaizka Mendieta equalized with a penalty. At the end of the second half, the Spaniards put everything on one card and put the French on the verge of defeat. Valencia CF's sure-footed penalty taker Mendieta had already been replaced when the chance to equalize with a penalty came in the 90th minute. Captain Raúl took responsibility, but shot wide. France made it to the semi-finals.
Spain
Israel
Austria
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Cyprus
San Marino
Valencia CF
Spain
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Yugoslavia
Norway
Slovenia
Norway
Slovenia
France
