2000 UEFA European Championship

Lore & Background

France won the tournament, defeating Italy 2–1 in the final with a golden goal by David Trezeguet after equalising with a last-minute goal, and became the first team to win the European championship while being world champion. The finals saw the first major UEFA competition contested in the King Baudouin Stadium since the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster. Football hooliganism was a concern; on 17 June, 174 England fans were arrested in Brussels following violence with Germans and local Turkish groups ahead of an England v Germany match.

In Their Own Story

The floodlights at De Kuip hummed like a held breath. Sixty thousand voices pressed against the night air, and the grass gleamed wet under the June rain that had just stopped. Zidane stood at the centre circle, hands on hips, watching the Italian backline settle into their shape. He knew what was coming — the patience, the low blocks, the waiting for one mistake. He also knew what France had in their boots. The corner kick came from the right. Zidane's delivery hung in the air with a lazy, impossible spin. Henry rose above everyone, his head a single point of impact, and the ball kissed the inside of the net. The roar was immediate, physical, a wall of sound that shook the stands. For a moment the whole stadium belonged to blue. Then Vieri's goal. Then the long, aching minutes of Italy pressing, France absorbing, the clock ticking like a metronome. And then Trezeguet, alone before the keeper, the ball at his feet, the silence of his run-up so complete you could hear the stitching on the leather. Low. Left corner. Unstoppable. The final whistle. The confetti. Zidane's hands on the silver cup, his face unreadable, his eyes already scanning the crowd for the people who had been there since 1998. Two trophies. Two crowns. One generation that the world would not forget.

Reader's Guide

The finals tournament was contested by 16 nations. Belgium and the Netherlands automatically qualified as co-hosts. The group stage included Group D with Netherlands, France, Denmark, and Czech Republic (not explicitly named in source but implied). France beat Denmark but scores are not specified. Portugal won Group A with three wins, including a 3–0 victory against Germany and a 3–2 victory against England. In the quarter-finals, France beat Spain 2–1. Italy eliminated the Netherlands in the semi-finals after a 0-0 draw and penalty shootout. France defeated Italy 2–1 in the final via a golden goal.

Did You Know?

• Euro 2000 was the first European Championship co-hosted by more than one nation.
• Germany were defending champions but were eliminated in the group stage.
• Patrick Kluivert was originally credited with four goals in the quarter-final against FR Yugoslavia, but the third was later re-attributed as an own goal.
• The opening game was played in the rebuilt King Baudouin Stadium.
• As of 2024, this was the only time Norway qualified for the European Championship finals.