Spanish national soccer team / European championships

Spain
España

European Championship record scorer:	Fernando Torres (5)
European Championship record players:	Cesc Fàbregas and Andrés Iniesta (16 each)
Rank:	3
Organizer:	1964
Balance sheet
40 European Championship games 19 wins 11 draws 10 defeats 55:36 goals
statistics
First European Championship game Spain 2: 1 aet Hungary Madrid ( ESP ); June 17, 1964
Biggest European Championship victories Spain 4: 0 Ireland Gdansk ( POL ); June 14, 2012 Spain 4-0 Italy Kiev ( UKR ); July 1, 2012
Biggest European Championship defeats Spain 0-2 France Paris ( FRA ); June 27, 1984 Spain 0-2 BR Germany Munich ( DEU ); June 17, 1988 Spain 0-2 Italy Saint-Denis ( FRA ); June 27, 2016
successes
European Championship
Participation in the finals	10 ( first : 1964 )
Best results	European champion 1964 , 2008 , 2012
Best results in the countries where the UEFA European Football Championships are held
(As of October 15, 2019)

The article contains a detailed description of the Spanish national soccer team at European championships . Spain took part in the finals of the European Championship for the tenth time in 2016 and was three times European champion and once runner-up. Spain has been record European champions together with Germany since 2012.

Overview

The Spanish national team has taken part in the European Championship finals ten times . In 1964, the selection celebrated its first title win in its own country, a success that was repeated in Austria and Switzerland in 2008 and in Poland and the Ukraine in 2012. In 1984 the Spaniards reached the final, but failed there due to hosts France .

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1960	France	disqualified	-	-	-	Spain was disqualified after the Spanish regime banned the team from competing in the USSR
1964	Spain	final	USSR	European champion	José Villalonga	1st title win
1968	Italy	not qualified	-	-	-	In the quarter-finals to world champions England failed.
1972	Belgium	not qualified	-	-	-	In the qualification of the USSR failed.
1976	Yugoslavia	not qualified	-	-	-	In the quarter-finals of defending West Germany failed.
1980	Italy	Preliminary round	Belgium , England , Italy		László Kubala	Eliminated as last group
1984	France	final	France	2nd place	Miguel Muñoz
1988	Germany	Preliminary round	Denmark , FR Germany , Italy	-	Miguel Muñoz
1992	Sweden	not qualified	-	-	-	In qualifying at France and Czechoslovakia failed, which also could not qualify.
1996	England	Quarter finals	England	-	Javier Clemente	Out on penalties
2000	Netherlands and Belgium	Quarter finals	France	-	José Antonio Camacho	Out against world champion France, who then won the title.
2004	Portugal	Preliminary round	Greece , Portugal , Russia	-	Iñaki Sáez
2008	Switzerland and Austria	final	Germany	European champion	Luis Aragonés	2. Title win
2012	Poland and Ukraine	final	Italy	European champion	Vicente del Bosque	3rd title win, first title defense
2016	France	Round of 16	Italy	-	Vicente del Bosque	After victories against the Czech Republic and Turkey as well as a defeat against Croatia in second place in the group reached the second round.
2021	Europe	qualified				With the Estadio de San Mamés in Bilbao, Spain provides a venue for three group games and one round of 16, but had to qualify, which was achieved on October 15, 2019 and will then play three games in the group stage in Bilbao, where they will play on Poland, Sweden and will meet a playoff winner.

EM 1960

Spain initially took part in the first European football championship in 1960, which was still called the "European Cup of Nations". In the round of 16, Poland was defeated in two games (4-2 and 3-0), with Luis Suárez scoring the first qualifying goal and Alfredo Di Stéfano a total of three goals. In the quarter-finals, Spain would then play against the Soviet Union. The Cold War still dominated the sport at the time and Spain refused to play in the Soviet Union at the behest of the then government under dictator Francisco Franco , although the Spanish team had already assembled at the airport in Madrid on their way to the USSR . The leadership of the Soviet Union, for its part, refused to hold it on neutral ground. The two games were rated 3-0 by UEFA for the USSR team. Spain also had to pay a contractual penalty. The USSR thus reached the finals in France without a fight and became the first "European Cup winner of the nations" there.

EM 1964

Four years later, more teams than 1960 wanted to participate, including Spain again. Therefore, the round of 16 was preceded by a preliminary round and Spain had to play against Romania in this . Spain, which has been coached by José Villalonga since the preliminary round at the 1962 World Cup , won the home game 6-0, with Vincente Guillot scoring three goals alone. In the second leg 14 days later a 1: 3 could be coped with.

In the round of 16 they met Northern Ireland and only achieved a 1-1 draw at home. In the second leg, however, captain Francisco Gento was able to secure the 1-0 win and advance with a goal. Also in the quarterfinals it went to Ireland, this time against the Republic . After a 5-1 home game and a 2-0 win in Dublin , Spain was the finalist. The final round was then awarded to Spain and the Spaniards took advantage of the home advantage. Against Hungary , however, they needed extra time in the semifinals to move into the final against defending champions Soviet Union . Here they took the lead in the 6th minute, but had to accept the equalizer two minutes later. The winning goal came six minutes before the end. The Spaniard Jesús María Pereda scored two goals in the finals and was the top scorer of the finals together with two Hungarians.

EM 1968

For the European Football Championship in 1968, group matches were scheduled for the first time in qualifying and, unlike in the World Cup, the defending champion was not automatically qualified. Spain had to face Czechoslovakia , Ireland and Turkey . Spain, which was coached by Domènec Balmanya after the preliminary round at the 1966 World Cup , won all home games, played twice and lost only in Czechoslovakia and then benefited from Czechoslovakia's home defeat in their last game against Ireland. Spain qualified as group winners for the quarter-finals with one point ahead of Czechoslovakia. In this they met world champions England and lost both games.

England was thus qualified for the finals, which took place in Italy and came third there.

European Championship 1972

Spain could not qualify for the European Championship finals in 1972 . In a group with the Soviet Union, Northern Ireland and Cyprus , Spain managed to score the most goals, but lost in the USSR and only achieved a 0-0 home game against the USSR. Spain only finished second in the group, the USSR then also reached the finals, but lost there in the final against Germany.

EM 1976

In 1976 the final round was held for the last time with four teams. Spain were able to prevail unbeaten in the group stage against Romania , Scotland and Denmark , but then failed in the quarter-finals to defending champions Germany . After a 1-1 draw at home, the second leg was lost 2-0. Germany then reached the final again, but lost it on penalties against Czechoslovakia.

EM 1980

The 1980 European Football Championship was held for the first time with eight teams and for the first time the host was determined in advance. Italy was able to prevail in the application. Spain, on the other hand, had to qualify and successfully completed the task against Yugoslavia , Romania and Cyprus.

In the final round, a group stage took place for the first time, in which 4 teams each played once against each other and the best team in each group reached the final while the second best team played the last game for third place. Spain met hosts Italy in their first game and only had a goalless draw. But that remained the only point win, because in the second game against Belgium they lost 2-1 and the third game against England ended as well. This eliminated Spain as the bottom of the group.

EM 1984

In qualifying for the European Championship 1984 in France, the Spaniards had to compete in Group 7 against the Netherlands , Ireland , Iceland and Malta . The Spaniards have been trained by Miguel Muñoz since the second round at the home World Cup . Spain and the Dutch won their home games against each other and only lost a point in Ireland and Iceland respectively. So in the end both had 13: 3 points and a goal difference of +16. But since the Spaniards won the last game against Malta 12-1, with only 3-1 leading at break, and thus two more goals than the Dutch, they went to the European Championship finals.

At the finals, they only came to two 1-1 draws in their first two games against Romania and Portugal. In the last group match against defending champions Germany it was 0-0 for a long time, which would have been enough for the Germans to reach the semi-finals, but would have meant the end for Spain. In the 90th minute, Libero Antonio Maceda scored the 1-0 winner, which reversed the situation: Germany was eliminated and Spain was group winners in the semi-finals. There they met the surprise team from Denmark around Michael Laudrup . After just seven minutes they had to accept the 0-1 deficit, but were then able to block the Danish attacks. In the 67th minute it was Maceda again, who scored for Spain. No further goals were scored in extra time, so the Spaniards had their first penalty shoot-out. While all five Spaniards scored, Preben Elkjær Larsen shot his penalty over the goal and Spain moved into the final. Here they met hosts France, who had reached the final with ease. The Spaniards initially surprised the French with very offensive football and had their first chances, but could not use them. In the second half, a fatal mistake by Spain goalkeeper Luis Arconada led the French to take the lead: A direct free kick from Michel Platini let Arconada slip through his hands and the ball rolled over the line in slow motion. The Spaniards tried to compensate for the 1-0 lead with even stronger offensive efforts, accepting counterattacks from the French. But even after the French central defender Le Roux was sent off in the 85th minute, the efforts were unsuccessful. On the other hand, the French were able to successfully complete a counterattack by left winger Bruno Bellone in the 90th minute , with France winning the title for the first time.

EM 1988

The qualification for the European Championship in Germany was successful again. In a group with Romania and Austria and Albania , which lost all games, the Spaniards won five games and only lost in Romania. Since they only came to a 0-0 draw in Austria, the Spaniards had one point more in the end and went to the European Championship finals.

In Germany they were drawn into a group with hosts Germany , Denmark and Italy . In the first game against Denmark they took the lead after just six minutes. After the Danish equalization 20 minutes later they were able to add two goals, the Danish goal came too late and since Germany and Italy had separated 1: 1 in the first game, Spain took the lead in the group after the first matchday. But they lost this on the second matchday by a 0-1 against Italy and after a 0-2 against Germany the European Championship was over for Spain. Germany and Italy then failed in the semifinals against the Netherlands and the USSR respectively. For Miguel Muñoz, his tenure as national coach ended with the EM. He was replaced by Luis Suárez , scorer of the first European Championship qualifying goal.

EM 1992

In qualifying for the European Championships in 1992 , Spain then met France, Czechoslovakia, Iceland and Albania. Spain could only win the home games against Czechoslovakia, Iceland and Albania, but lost the home game against France and all away games, except for the last game in Albania, which was not played due to the political situation in Albania at the time, as it no longer had any influence on the group's exit. Third in the group, Spain missed qualification for the final round for the last time, France surprisingly failed as group winners in the preliminary round to Denmark, which was nominated for the suspended Yugoslavs at short notice and then won the final against world champions Germany. Suárez 'tenure as national coach was over in the current qualification after two friendly defeats , his successor Vicente Miera could not turn the tide, but at least win the gold medal with the Spanish Olympic team at the Olympic Games in Barcelona . He was then replaced by Javier Clemente .

EM 1996

Azerbaijani postage stamp on the game against Bulgaria

For the European Championship 1996 in England, which was held for the first time with 16 teams, the Spaniards had to qualify against defending champions Denmark, Belgium , Macedonia , Cyprus and Armenia , of which Armenia and Macedonia participated for the first time. Spain won eight games and drew twice. This placed first ahead of Denmark, which was also able to qualify directly as the fifth-best runner-up in the group.

In England, Spain was drawn into a group with France, Bulgaria and Romania. The opening game against Bulgaria ended 1-1, as did the second game against France. With a 2: 1 against Romania the 2nd place was reached. In the quarter-finals, which were held for the first time, hosts England were the opponents. The Spaniards had slight advantages, but neither scored a goal in 120 minutes. So the penalty shoot-out had to decide. Fernando Hierro's first penalty for Spain hit the crossbar, followed by the next two Spaniards, while Miguel Ángel Nadal was denied by the English goalkeeper. Since the first four Englishmen were successful, however, the fifth Englishman and Spaniard no longer had to compete. For England it was the only success in a penalty shoot-out to this day. Already in the semifinals against Germany, the next out followed on penalties.

EM 2000

After the end in the preliminary round of the 1998 World Cup , coach Clemente initially remained in office. In the first qualifying game for the EM 2000 the Spaniards lost surprisingly in Cyprus, whereupon he resigned. He was succeeded by José Antonio Camacho and under him the remaining games of the group against Israel , Austria, Cyprus and San Marino were won. Spain was eight points ahead of group winners over Israel, but they failed in the group runners-up playoffs to Denmark.

In the final round, which was held in two countries for the first time, Spain was drawn into the group with Norway and Slovenia , which had qualified for the first time for the final round, and the FR of Yugoslavia . They surprisingly lost the opening game against Norway 1-0, followed by a 2-1 win against Slovenia. In the last game against the FR of Yugoslavia it went back and forth and the dramatic decision was only made in stoppage time. Initially it was 3-2 for the Yugoslavs until the 90th minute and Spain would have been eliminated. Then Gaizka Mendieta was able to equalize in the fourth minute of stoppage time with a penalty to 3: 3 and in the sixth minute of stoppage time Alfonso scored the winning goal to make it 4: 3 for the Spaniards, who were group winners. In the quarter-finals they then met world champion France, who used his few chances more consistently and won 2-1.

EM 2004

Spain had also applied to host the 2004 European Championship, but was then defeated in the vote against its neighbor Portugal. Spain therefore had to qualify again and met Greece , Ukraine , Armenia and Northern Ireland . They were now coached by Iñaki Sáez , who had taken over from José Antonio Camacho after the quarter-finals at the 2002 World Cup . Spain started qualifying with a win in Greece and a home win against Northern Ireland, but only a 2-2 win in Ukraine followed. A 3-0 win against the Armenians was initially back on track, but a surprising home defeat against Greece (so far only defeat against Greece) and a 0-0 win in Northern Ireland only meant second place behind Greece in the end. So Spain had to go into the playoffs of the group runners-up and met Norway. But with two wins they qualified for the finals.

In Portugal, the Spaniards were drawn into a group with hosts Portugal , qualifying opponents Greece and Russia , against which the opening game was won 1-0. A 1-1 draw against Greece followed, so that in the last game against the neighbors a draw would have been enough to reach the knockout round. However, Portugal won 1-0 and were still group first despite the defeat in the opening game against the Greeks. Spaniards and Greeks were equal on points and goal differences, but since the Greeks had scored more goals, they came second. Spain was eliminated from the group stage for the first time since 1988. The Portuguese and the Greeks met again in the final and the Greeks won again, becoming sensational European champions. Sáez's term of office ended with the preliminary round, his successor was Luis Aragonés .

EM 2008

Spanish fans in the group game against Russia

Starting grid for the 2008 finals

Four years later, Spain had to qualify for the next European Championship against Sweden , Northern Ireland, Denmark, Latvia , Iceland and Liechtenstein . Spain started with a 4-0 win against Liechtenstein, but then lost in Northern Ireland and Sweden. This was followed by four wins before the last point was surprisingly given away at 1-1 in Iceland. However, as Sweden only scored 1-1 at home against Northern Ireland, Spain were group winners two points ahead of Sweden. Both were thus qualified for the finals.

At the final round, which was again held in two countries, Spain was drawn into a group with defending champions Greece, other group opponents were Russia and qualifying opponents Sweden. In the first game Russia was overrun 4-1, with David Villa scoring the first three goals. Villa then secured a 2-1 win against Sweden in the second minute of stoppage time and thus the crown of the top scorer . With this result, the game against the defending champion, who had already been eliminated, ended. In the quarter-finals, world champions Italy were the opponents, but after the second yellow cards they had to do without strategists Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso . Since both teams failed to score in 120 minutes, the penalty shoot-out had to decide again. The focus here was on the world's best goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon and Iker Casillas at the time . Since Casillas was able to save two penalties, while the Italian was only successful once, Spain won the penalty shootout 4-2 (the last Italian did not have to play again). Spain was in the semifinals of a major football tournament for the first time since 1984, after finishing five times in the quarterfinals. (See The Quarter -Final Curse (1986-2006) ) In the semifinals, group opponents Russia were again the opponents. Although Villa didn't score this time, he did score three of his teammates, whereas the Russians missed out. This was the third time that Spain had reached the final and met record European champions Germany. The Spanish team started out surprisingly nervous and Germany started comparatively well, but could only hold out for ten minutes. Then Spain dominated and came up with some chances, but could not use them at first. In the 33rd minute of the game, however, Fernando Torres made it 1-0. Even after that, Spain had other chances. In the end, however, it stayed 1-0 and thus the second European title for Spain and Spain took first place in the FIFA world rankings for the first time . After the European Championship victory, Luis Aragonés resigned, followed by Vicente del Bosque , who brought the 2010 World Cup title to Spain with a little changed team but a more perfected style of play . With the European Championship title, Spain was also qualified for the first time for the FIFA Confederations Cup, which was previously held as a World Cup dress rehearsal, in South Africa , but surprisingly lost there in the semi-finals to the USA for the first time and then finished third.

EM 2012

Starting line-ups in the 2012 final

Scene from the group game against Italy

The team before the final against Italy

Scene with Xavi and Riccardo Montolivo in the final

Unlike 1968, the Spaniards could four years later as the defending champion again qualify . In a group with the Czech Republic , Scotland , Lithuania and Liechtenstein, they confidently prevailed as group winners without losing points in front of the Czech Republic. The second-placed Czechs had to go to the playoffs of the group runners-up against Montenegro and won both games.

At the finals, which again took place in two countries, the Spaniards were drawn into a group with former world champions Italy , Ireland and Croatia . In the opening game against Italy they only came to a 1-1 draw. A 4-0 win against Ireland and a 1-0 win against Croatia followed, but only two minutes before the end of the game. They were in the quarter-finals against France , against which they had never won at European Championships. This time they got the upper hand with two goals from Xabi Alonso and met their neighbor Portugal. Here both teams failed to score in 120 minutes, so the penalty shoot-out had to decide. At first Xabi Alonso failed because of the Portuguese goalkeeper, but in return the first Portuguese also failed because of Iker Casillas . After that, the other four Spaniards met while the fourth Portuguese just hit the crossbar. The last Portuguese didn't have to compete. In the final, the opening game against Italy was repeated. But this time the Spaniards gave Italy no chance and won 4-0, the highest victory in a European Championship final. Spain became European champions for the third time, drawing level with Germany. In addition, the Spaniards were the first team after Uruguay , which became South American champions in 1922 and 1924 and Olympic champions in 1924, to win three titles in a row.

For the first time, the current world champion (Spain) and his predecessor (Italy) met at this European Championship. Ten players from the World Cup finals were used in the preliminary round for Spain and three for Italy. Previously, this encounter was not possible because for the first time in 2006 and 2010 two European teams became world champions in succession. As early as 2008, the then world champions Italy and their successors Spain faced each other in the quarter-finals, with Italy playing 8 players from the 2006 World Cup final and Spain playing 9 players from the 2010 final.

With the European Championship title, Spain qualified for the FIFA Confederations Cup and the World Cup dress rehearsal in Brazil , but lost the final against Brazil 3-0 there. This ended a record series of 29 non-lost competitive games (24 wins, 5 draws - 2 of which were won on penalties).

EM 2016

For the first time, 24 teams took part in the European Championship. For the qualifying group draw , which took place on February 23, 2014, Spain was ranked first in Pot 1. The opponents drawn are Slovakia , Ukraine , Belarus , Macedonia and Luxembourg .

The first two in the group qualify directly for the European Championship finals. If the third-placed team is the best third in the group, it is also directly qualified. The remaining third in the group play four other participants in the playoffs.

Spain, which will continue to be coached by Vicente del Bosque after the preliminary round at the 2014 World Cup , started qualifying with a 5-1 win over Macedonia, but then lost in Slovakia. This was followed by four wins - most recently in the 100th international match under Vicente del Bosque - so that before the summer break, 2nd place was taken behind the Slovaks who had no loss points. The second leg against the Slovaks could then be won, which took first place. With a 4-0 win against Luxembourg, the Spaniards qualified early for the finals on the penultimate matchday.

For the group draw on December 12, 2015, defending champions Spain with the second-best UEFA coefficient was assigned to Pot 1 and therefore could not face either host France or world champions Germany in the group stage. The draw were drawn to the Spaniards Croatia, Turkey and the Czech Republic, against which the Spaniards won their opening game. After a win against Turkey, the Spaniards were in the round of 16, but then lost the game for group victory against Croatia and met Italy for the final. The Italians surprised the Spaniards with an offensive strategy and took the lead after goalkeeper David de Gea was only able to fend off a sharply shot free kick forward in the margin by defender Giorgio Chiellini . Even after that, the Spaniards did not find their way into the game and could then thank de Gea that the Italians did not score more goals. In the second half, the Spaniards pushed the Italians back into their half, but could not use their scoring opportunities. When they pushed for an equalizer towards the end, they had to accept a second goal in stoppage time.

EM 2021

Spain had applied for the pan-European EM with the Estadio de San Mamés in Bilbao for three group games and one round of 16 or quarter-finals and received three group games and the round of 16. Like the other countries in which games will take place, Spain also had to qualify. The Spaniards met Sweden, Norway, Romania, the Faroe Islands and Malta in one of the five groups of six. The Spaniards won the first six games, but then initially missed early qualification with a draw in Norway. This was then achieved in the next game through a last-minute draw in Sweden.

At the draw on November 30, 2019, the Swedes were drawn again, as well as Poland and a team that still has to qualify via the playoffs in March 2020.

Player with the most appearances in European championships

Cesc Fàbregas (left) and Andrés Iniesta (right), Spanish players with the most European Championship games

Games	player	Year (games)
16	Cesc Fàbregas	2008 (6), 2012 (6), 2016 (4)
	Andrés Iniesta	2008 (6), 2012 (6), 2016 (4)
15th	Sergio Ramos	2008 (5), 2012 (6), 2016 (4)
	David Silva	2008 (5), 2012 (6), 2016 (4)
14th	Iker Casillas	2000 (0), 2004 (3), 2008 (5), 2012 (6), 2016 (0)
13	Fernando Torres	2004 (3), 2008 (5), 2012 (5)
12	Xabi Alonso	2004 (2), 2008 (4), 2012 (6)
11	Xavi	2004 (0), 2008 (5), 2012 (6)
10	Rafael Gordillo	1980 (3), 1984 (4), 1988 (3)
	Jordi Alba	2012 (6), 2016 (4)
	Sergio Busquets	2012 (6), 2016 (4)
	Gerard Piqué	2012 (6), 2016 (4)
8th	Alfonso	1996 (4), 2000 (4)
	Luis Arconada	1980 (3), 1984 (5)
	Víctor Muñoz	1984 (5), 1988 (3)
	Carles Puyol	2004 (3), 2008 (5)

As of June 27, 2016

Player with the most goals at European championships

Fernando Torres , Spanish player with the most European Championship goals

Gates	player	Year (goals)
5	Fernando Torres	2004 (0), 2008 (2), 2012 (3)
4th	David Villa	2008 (4)
3	Alfonso	1996 (1), 2000 (2)
	Cesc Fàbregas	2008 (1), 2012 (2)
	Álvaro Morata	2016 (3)
	David Silva	2008 (1), 2012 (2), 2016 (0)
2	6 players
1	22 players

As of June 27, 2016

Players banned from European championships

• In 1984 Francisco Carrasco received the second yellow card in the final , but it had no effect.
• In 1996 Juan Antonio Pizzi received the red card in the first group game and was suspended for the second group game.
• In 2000 Míchel Salgado received the second yellow card in the quarterfinals, but this had no effect since Spain were eliminated.
• In 2004 Carlos Marchena received the second yellow card in the second group match and was suspended for the last group match. David Albelda received the second yellow card in the last group game, but this had no effect since Spain were eliminated.
• In 2012, Xabi Alonso , Álvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos received the second yellow card in the semi-finals . Since the cards from the group stage and the quarter-finals were no longer taken into account from the semi-finals, they had no effect.

Share of players playing abroad in the EM squad

Two legionaries were already included in the first squad, but not until 2004 and then only in small numbers. 2016 has the highest number of legionnaires in the Spanish squad to date.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1964 (2)	2 (in Italy)	Luis del Sol (0), Luis Suárez (2)
1980 (4)	0
1988 (4)	0
1996 (3)	0
2000 (6)	0
2004 (3)	1 (in France)	Fernando Morientes (3)
2008 (6)	5 (in England)	Xabi Alonso (4), Álvaro Arbeloa (1), Cesc Fàbregas (6), Pepe Reina (1), Fernando Torres (5)
2012 (6)	4 (in England)	Juan Mata (1), Álvaro Negredo (2), Pepe Reina (0), David Silva (6)
2016 (4)	9 (1 in Germany, 6 in England, 1 in Italy, 1 in Portugal)	Thiago (2); César Azpilicueta (1), Héctor Bellerín , Cesc Fàbregas (4), David de Gea (4), Pedro (2), David Silva (4); Álvaro Morata (4); Iker Casillas

As of June 27, 2016

Records

team

• The only European champion who could defend the title.
• Besides Germany, the only European champion who also became world champion: Germany 1974, Spain 2010
• The longest winning streak: Spain celebrated 6 victories during the European Championship in 2008 (including one win on penalties).
• The longest series without a loss: Spain managed 14 games without defeat between 2008 and 2016, but won the fourth and eleventh game in the series on penalties.
• Most games without conceding in a row: Spain (2012 and 2016) 7, Germany (1996 and 2016), Greece (2004), Poland (2016) and Spain (2008) 3 each
• Spain needed the most games to become European champions in 2008: 12 qualifying and six finals.
• The most frequent pairings: Spain - Italy (6 games, 1 × in the final, 1 × in the quarter-finals, 1 × in the second round, 3 × in the preliminary round)
• Biggest victories in the semi-finals: Spain v Russia (2008), USSR v Czechoslovakia (1960) and USSR v Denmark (1964) all 3-0
• Biggest win in the final: Spain - Italy (2012) 4-0
• The finals with the highest number of goals: 4 goals: Spain - Italy 4: 0 (2012) and Czechoslovakia - Germany 2: 2 a.d. (1976)
• First penalty in stoppage time: On June 21, 2000, in the 4th minute of stoppage time in the game Yugoslavia - Spain, Gaizka Mendieta equalized 3: 3 for Spain . In the 6th minute of stoppage time, the 4: 3 fell for Spain.
• Most penalties won: Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic (3 out of 3) and Spain (3 out of 4)
• Spain played the second most qualifying matches after Ireland (117): 115 (as of October 13, 2015)
• Spain won the most qualifying matches (81), scored the most goals, scored the most goals per game (2.46) and has the best goal difference in qualifying matches (283: 86 / +197) - (as of October 13, 2015)

player

• The fastest goal in a final: Jesús María Pereda after 6 minutes on June 21, 1964 in the final Spain - Soviet Union (final score 2: 1)

spectator

• Most spectators at one game: 125,000 in the semi-finals Spain - Hungary 1964
• Most viewers on average: 62,379 (Germany 1988) or 68,000 (Spain 1964)

opponent

• First expulsion in a final: Yvon Le Roux (France) in 1984 in the 86th minute of the France-Spain game

Negative records

• Spain are among the three defending champions who did not qualify for the next finals: Spain 1968, Italy 1972, France 1988

Record against the other European champions at European championships

Iker Casillas with European Championship trophy

• Italy: 6 games (including 1 final) 2 wins, 2 draws (1 win new), 2 defeats, 5: 4 goals (4: 2)
• USSR / CIS / Russia: 4 games, 4 wins 10: 2 goals
• France: 4 games (including 1 final), 1 win, 1 draw, 2 defeats, 4-5 goals
• Germany: 3 games (including 1 final), 2 wins, 1 defeat, 2-2 goals
• Portugal: 3 games, 2 draws (1 win new), 1 defeat, 1: 2 goals (4: 2)
• Denmark: 2 games, 2 wins, 4: 3 goals
• Greece: 2 games, 1 win, 1 draw, 3-2 goals
• Czechoslovakia / Czech Republic: 1 game, 1 win, 1-0 goals
• Netherlands: no game

Games

Madrid (2) Milan (2) Naples Saint-Etienne Paris (2) Marseille Lyon Hanover Munich Frankfurt Leeds (3) London Rotterdam Amsterdam Bruges (2) Faro-Loulé postage Lisbon Innsbruck (2) Salzburg Vienna (3) Gdansk (3) Donetsk (2) Kiev Toulouse Bordeaux Nice Saint-Denis Bilbao (3)

Venues (green = positive balance, yellow = balanced balance, red = negative balance, bold = final venue, number in brackets = number of games if> 1)

Spain has played 40 European Championship games so far, 19 of which have been won, 10 have been lost and 11 have ended in a draw. Five games had to be extended. One of them was won by a goal, three won on penalties and one lost.

Spain have had two home games so far. Spain played their first game as hosts once and played against the hosts five times.

Spain played three times, in 1964 in the final and in 1984 and 2008 in the group matches against the defending champions, and three times against the eventual European champions: in 1984 in the final, in 2000 in the quarter-finals and in 2004 in a group match.

• The highest victories in an EM tournament are only achieved against three countries:
  •  Italy : 2012 final 4-0 (highest final victory at European championships)
  •  Russia : 4-1 and 3-0 preliminary round and semi-finals 2008
  •  Turkey : 3-0 preliminary round 2016 (also a 4-1 in the 1954 World Cup qualification and a 3-0 in a friendly match)

• The Spanish team suffered their biggest defeat at an EM tournament against the following countries:
  •  France : 1984 final 0: 2 (also 1: 3 twice, in the 2006 World Cup round of 16 and qualifying for the 1992 European Championship)
  •  Norway : Preliminary round 2000 0-1 (only loss to Norway)

All EM games
No.	date	Result	opponent		venue	occasion	Remarks
1	06/17/1964	2: 1 a.d.	Hungary	H	Madrid	Semifinals
2	06/21/1964	2: 1	Soviet Union (TV)	H	Madrid	Endgame	Spanish team's first European title; First game against the Soviet Union
3	06/12/1980	0-0	Italy	A.	Milan ( ITA )	Group game
4th	06/15/1980	1: 2	Belgium	*	Milan ( ITA )	Group game
5	06/18/1980	1: 2	England	*	Naples ( ITA )	Group game	Last game under Ladislav Kubala
6th	06/14/1984	1: 1	Romania	*	Saint-Etienne ( FRA )	Group game
7th	06/17/1984	1: 1	Portugal	*	Marseille ( FRA )	Group game
8th	06/20/1984	1-0	BRD (TV)	*	Paris ( FRA )	Group game
9	06/24/1984	1: 1 n.V., 5: 4 i. E.	Denmark	*	Lyon ( FRA )	Semifinals
10	06/27/1984	0: 2	France	A.	Paris ( FRA )	Endgame
11	06/11/1988	3: 2	Denmark	*	Hanover ( GER )	Group game
12	06/14/1988	0: 1	Italy	*	Frankfurt ( GER )	Group game
13	06/17/1988	0: 2	FRG	A.	Munich ( GER )	Group game	Last game under Miguel Muñoz
14th	06/09/1996	1: 1	Bulgaria	*	Leeds ( ENG )	Group game
15th	06/15/1996	1: 1	France	*	Leeds ( ENG )	Group game
16	06/18/1996	2: 1	Romania	*	Leeds ( ENG )	Group game
17th	06/22/1996	0: 0 a.d., 2: 4 i. E.	England	A.	London ( ENG )	Quarter finals
18th	06/13/2000	0: 1	Norway	*	Rotterdam ( NED )	Group game
19th	06/18/2000	2: 1	Slovenia	*	Amsterdam ( NED )	Group game	First international match against Slovenia
20th	06/21/2000	4: 3	BR Yugoslavia	*	Bruges ( BEL )	Group game
21st	06/25/2000	1: 2	France	*	Bruges ( BEL )	Quarter finals
22nd	06/12/2004	1-0	Russia	*	Faro-Loulé ( POR )	Group game
23	06/16/2004	1: 1	Greece	*	Postage ( POR )	Group game
24	06/20/2004	0: 1	Portugal	A.	Lisbon ( POR )	Group game	Last game under Iñaki Sáez
25th	06/10/2008	4: 1	Russia	*	Innsbruck ( AUT )	Group game
26th	06/14/2008	2: 1	Sweden	*	Innsbruck ( AUT )	Group game
27	06/18/2008	2: 1	Greece (TV)	*	Salzburg ( AUT )	Group game
28	06/22/2008	0: 0 a.d., 4: 2 i. E.	Italy	*	Vienna ( AUT )	Quarter finals
29	06/26/2008	3-0	Russia	*	Vienna ( AUT )	Semifinals
30th	06/29/2008	1-0	Germany	*	Vienna ( AUT )	Endgame	Second European title for the Spaniards, last game under Luis Aragonés
31	06/10/2012	1: 1	Italy	*	Gdansk ( POL )	Group game
32	06/14/2012	4-0	Ireland	*	Gdansk ( POL )	Group game	One of the highest victories in Spain at an EM
33	06/18/2012	1-0	Croatia	*	Gdansk ( POL )	Group game
34	06/23/2012	2-0	France	*	Donetsk ( UKR )	Quarter finals	100th international match for Xabi Alonso 50th victory under Vicente del Bosque
35	06/27/2012	0: 0 a.d., 4: 2 i. E.	Portugal	*	Donetsk ( UKR )	Semifinals
36	07/01/2012	4-0	Italy	*	Kiev ( UKR )	final	Third European Championship title for the Spaniards For the first time a team defends the European Championship title One of Spain's greatest victories at a European Championship
37	06/13/2016	1-0	Czech Republic	*	Toulouse ( FRA )	Preliminary round
38	06/17/2016	3-0	Turkey	*	Nice ( FRA )	Preliminary round
39	06/21/2016	1: 2	Croatia	*	Bordeaux ( FRA )	Preliminary round
40	06/27/2016	0: 2	Italy	*	Saint-Denis ( FRA )	Round of 16	Last game under Vicente del Bosque
	06/14/2021		Sweden	H	Bilbao	Preliminary round
	06/19/2021		Poland	H	Bilbao	Preliminary round
	06/13/2021		Playoff winner way B	H	Bilbao	Preliminary round

See also

• Spanish national soccer team at world championships

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ralf Klee and Broder-Jürgen Trede: "When Spain and Russia almost blew up the EM", in one day: Zeitgeschichten on Spiegel-Online, June 9, 2008
2. ↑ Draw for the EURO qualification: Pot 1 in focus. In: uefa.com. UEFA , February 20, 2014, accessed March 11, 2014 . 
3. ↑ According to rsssf.com [1] and sportschau.de [2] , according to fussballdaten.de it was only 34,700 [3]
4. ↑ www.sportschau.de: EURO statistics
5. ↑ rsssf.com: European Championship 1964