EURO holders' title defences: Italy beware!
domenica 1 gennaio 2023
Intro articolo
EURO holders haven't fared too well in the past, with just one team successfully defending their crown.
Contenuti top media
![Spain celebrate after successfully defending their title in 2012 Spain celebrate after successfully defending their title in 2012](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/028e-1b3139d735c7-ef9061f71490-1000/format/wide1/spain_celebrate.jpeg?imwidth=158)
Corpo articolo
According to the oft-repeated mantra, teams learn how to win; they develop that winning mentality and titles snowball. Success, they say, breeds success. Or does it?
The EURO has long been a stubborn outlier that bucks the trend. Over the 16 previous editions, just one team has successfully defended their crown – Spain in 2012. La Roja reverted to type four years later, failing to make it past the round of 16. Over to you, Italy.
England fans may be pleased to hear that runners-up have fared slightly better four years on, with Germany dusting themselves off to win in 1980 and 1996.
EURO title defences
Year | Winners | How they fared next time |
1960 | Soviet Union | Runners-up |
1964 | Spain | Quarter-finals* |
1968 | Italy | Quarter-finals* |
1972 | West Germany | Runners-up |
1976 | Czechoslovakia | Third place |
1980 | West Germany | Group stage |
1984 | France | Did not qualify |
1988 | Netherlands | Semi-finals |
1992 | Denmark | Group stage |
1996 | Germany | Group stage |
2000 | France | Quarter-finals |
2004 | Greece | Group stage |
2008 | Spain | Winners |
2012 | Spain | Round of 16 |
2016 | Portugal | Round of 16 |
2020 | Italy |
*Two-legged qualifier for four-team final tournament
World Cup holders have fared somewhat better at EUROs. France (2000) and Spain (2012) both won the continental crown, while Germany reached the 1976 and 1992 finals, and England achieved a third-place finish in 1968.
World Cup holders at a EURO
World Cup/EURO | World champions | How they fared at EURO |
1966/1968 | England | Third place |
1974/1976 | West Germany | Runners-up |
1982/1984 | Italy | Did not qualify |
1990/1992 | Germany** | Runners-up |
1998/2000 | France | Winners |
2006/2008 | Italy | Quarter-finals |
2010/2012 | Spain | Winners |
2014/2016 | Germany | Semi-finals |
2018/2020 | France | Round of 16 |
**Won 1990 World Cup as West Germany, entered EURO '92 as Germany