UEFA Euro 2012 final
The UEFA Euro 2012 final was the final match of Euro 2012, the fourteenth edition of the European Championship, UEFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 1 July 2012, and was contested between defending champions Spain and Italy.
The sixteen-team tournament began with a group stage, from which eight teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Spain finished top of Group C, with a draw against Italy and wins over Croatia and the Republic of Ireland. Spain then defeated France in the quarter-finals, and Portugal in the semi-finals on penalties. Italy were second in Group C, with draws against Spain and Croatia, and a victory over the Republic of Ireland. In the knockout stage, Italy defeated England on penalties in the quarter-finals, and Germany in the semi-finals. This was thus the fourth time that teams who played each other in the group stage faced off again in the Euro final.
The final took place in front of 63,170 supporters, and was refereed by Pedro Proença from Portugal. Spain won the match 4–0, the greatest margin of victory in European Championship final history, earning a joint-record third title and becoming the first team to win two consecutive European Championships. Spain's Andrés Iniesta was named as UEFA's man of the match.
Spain also became the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments, all without conceding a single goal in the knockout stage. Usually, the winners of the European Championship gain entry to the FIFA Confederations Cup, which was played in Brazil in 2013. However, since Spain had already qualified as the 2010 World Cup champions, runners-up Italy qualified automatically as the UEFA representative.
Background
was the fourteenth edition of the UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA's football competition for national teams, held between 8 June and 1 July 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Qualifying rounds were held between August 2010 and November 2011, in which fifty-one teams were divided into nine groups of five or six, playing each other on a home-and-away round-robin tournament basis. The top team in each group, along with the two host teams, qualified for the sixteen-team finals, with the remainder of the sixteen qualifying via two-legged play-offs. In the finals, the qualified teams were divided into four groups of four with each side playing each other once. The two top teams from each group advanced to a knock-out phase.Spain were reigning European champions, having won the European Championship in 2008. They had also secured the title on one other occasion, defeating the Soviet Union 2–1 in the 1964 final, and were runners-up in the 1984 final. Similarly, Italy won the title in 1968, defeating Yugoslavia 2–0 in the final, and were runners-up in 2000, losing 2–1 to France in the final. Before the tournament, the two sides had previously met each other 30 times, Italy winning ten games and Spain eight. Italy won the most recent meeting, a 2–1 friendly on 10 August 2011 at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari. Spain, who began the tournament as one of the favourites, ranked highest in the FIFA World Rankings, while Italy ranked twelfth overall, and eighth among UEFA teams.
The Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, the largest stadium of the eight Euro 2012 venues, was selected as the venue for the final, after a meeting held in Ukraine on 25 June 2007. Built in 1923, the 63,195-capacity stadium had been renovated for the tournament, during which a transparent roof had been installed. The Olympic Stadium had hosted three Euro 2012 group matches along with one of the quarter-finals.
Route to the final
Spain
Spain were drawn in Group C alongside Italy, Croatia, and Republic of Ireland, opening against Italy on 10 June 2012. Italy took the lead in the 61st minute through striker Antonio Di Natale, who had come on for Mario Balotelli. Three minutes later, Spain equalised when midfielder David Silva assisted Cesc Fàbregas, who slotted the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. In their next match on 14 June against Republic of Ireland, striker Fernando Torres opened the scoring early in the fourth minute, retaining the ball after Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne's unsuccessful tackle, before scoring from ten yards past defenceless goalkeeper Shay Given. In the 49th minute, after Given had blocked an Iniesta shot, David Silva collected the rebound and extended the Spanish lead, after nutmegging three defenders. With 20 minutes remaining, Torres scored his second goal, taking a pass from Silva and chipping the ball over Given. Fabregas scored the final goal after receiving a Silva corner and shooting from a difficult angle. Their third and final group stage match against Croatia on 18 June, proved to be more difficult, and Croatia had several goalscoring chances, notably from Ivan Strinić and Ivan Perišić, which Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas had no problems dealing with. The match looked to be heading for a draw, until the 88th minute, when substitute Jesús Navas struck the winning goal, from an Iniesta assist.In the quarter-finals, on 23 June 2012, Spain took on France. Spain opened the goalscoring with defender Jordi Alba running to the touchline under pressure and sending a pinpoint cross to unmarked midfielder Xabi Alonso, who drove a powerful header past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Spain completed their win late in the second half with Alonso's penalty kick after France defender Anthony Réveillère brought down Pedro inside the penalty area. In the semi-finals on 27 June, Spain faced Portugal in a competitive match. Portugal pressured the Spanish "tiki-taka" possession game high up the pitch, and created several goalscoring chances. Spain managed to hold on, which required the match to go into extra time. Spain began to take control of the match with the introduction of Pedro and Fabregas, but failed to score over both halves, leading to a penalty shoot-out. Alonso, who had previously taken a penalty kick against France, had his spot kick saved by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patrício. Portugal looked to take the advantage, with midfielder João Moutinho as the next penalty taker, but his strike was kept out with a diving save from Casillas. Iniesta took his penalty with precision before Portuguese defender Pepe struck his kick just past Casillas's fingertips. Defender Gerard Piqué calmly scored in the same corner of the goal as Pepe. Another defender, Bruno Alves, stepped up to take the third penalty for Portugal, but midfielder Nani encouraged Alves to let him take the penalty, which Nani struck high in the left corner of the goal after sending Casillas the wrong way. The fourth Spanish penalty was taken by defender Sergio Ramos, who chipped the ball past Rui Patrício, in the style of former Czech footballer Antonín Panenka. Portugal's fourth penalty was taken by defender Bruno Alves, who struck the crossbar with a rising shot. Spain's final penalty taker was Fàbregas, who scored Spain's fifth goal, as the ball went in via the left post. Spain emerged victorious, and headed to the UEFA European Championship final for the fourth time.
Italy
As well as Spain, Italy were placed in Group C in the group stage. Their opening match was against Spain on 10 June 2012 which ended in a 1–1 draw. Di Natale gave Italy the lead on the hour mark but Spain equalised through Fàbregas four minutes later. Italy's next fixture was against Croatia on 14 June. Italy were dominant in the first half of the match, and had several chances to score. A foul from Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitić on Balotelli resulted in a free kick for Italy. Andrea Pirlo stepped up, and struck the free kick, which went past Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, inside the left side of the goal. In the 72nd minute, Croatia striker Mario Mandžukić headed in an equalising goal, after an assist from Strinić. Their third and final group match against the Republic of Ireland was on 18 June. Striker Antonio Cassano struck the first goal, from a Pirlo corner, which Republic of Ireland defender Damien Duff failed to clear. Near the end of the match, centre midfielder Keith Andrews was booked for the second time, after committing a foul on Pirlo, resulting in a sending off by Turkey referee Cüneyt Çakır. As the match headed its way into the 90 minutes, in injury time, Balotelli struck a volley past Given, assisted by attacking midfielder Alessandro Diamanti.In the quarter-finals, Italy faced England. Both sides were dominant and had possession in the first half. Italy players, such as midfielders Riccardo Montolivo, Pirlo, Balotelli, and Cassano had chances to score, but failed to do so. England players also rounded off chances, through strikers Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, midfielders Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker, and defenders Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole. In the second half, Italy proved to be the more dominant, but neither managed to produce a goal, and the match was taken into extra time. Diamanti had the best chance to score in the first half, the ball hitting the outside of the left post. Both sides still failed to score and the match headed into a penalty shoot-out. Balotelli was the first penalty taker for Italy and he struck the penalty kick into the left corner, past England goalkeeper and Manchester City club teammate Joe Hart. Gerrard did not hesitate, and scored into the same left corner. Montolivo was the second player for Italy to take a penalty kick. He attempted to strike the ball into the same corner, but his shot went wide. He was followed by Rooney, who scored to put England ahead. Pirlo was the next Italian penalty taker and scored with a Panenka-style penalty. Midfielder Ashley Young stepped up to take England's third penalty, but hit the crossbar. Italy now had the advantage, as Antonio Nocerino successfully scored the fourth penalty. The pressure was now on England, and it proved to be decisive for Italy, as defender Cole stepped up to take the fourth penalty for England, which Buffon saved. In the semi-finals, Italy faced Germany. Italy dominated possession early, and after receiving the ball from Cassano, Balotelli opening the goalscoring in the 20th minute of the first half in the left corner inside the goal, heading past German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Sixteen minutes later Balotelli struck again, this time striking into the top right corner on a one-on-one with Neuer, assisted by a Montolivo lob over the German defence. In the second half, Germany improved, and were awarded a penalty in the 90th minute after Federico Balzaretti was penalised for handball. Germany midfielder Mesut Özil struck the penalty kick into the right corner. Despite this, Italy held on to their lead, securing victory and progression to the final.