EURO 2000: All you need to know
domenica 1 gennaio 2023
Intro articolo
A 'golden goal' brought joy for France in Rotterdam; look back at the 2000 finals.
Contenuti top media
![Sylvain Wiltord scores France's third goal in the 3-0 group stage win against Denmark. Sylvain Wiltord scores France's third goal in the 3-0 group stage win against Denmark.](https://editorial.uefa.com/resources/0289-19e7a6aab32b-50768425e277-1000/format/wide1/sylvain_wiltord.jpeg?imwidth=158)
Corpo articolo
Who won EURO 2000?
Powered by the brilliance of Zinédine Zidane, 1998 FIFA World Cup winners France prevailed at EURO 2000, but they rode their luck in the final against Italy on 2 July 2000. Italy led through Marco Delvecchio until Sylvain Wiltord beat Francesco Toldo in added time, and then David Trezeguet volleyed the 'golden goal' winner 13 minutes into extra time.
"I hit the ball as it dropped," Trezeguet remembered. "It went in and we became the first team to win the European Championship after winning the World Cup. It was a great thing for our country."
Who were the top scorers at EURO 2000?
Two players finished level on five goals after EURO 2000:
Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands)
Savo Milošević (Yugoslavia)
The top scorer in qualifying was Spain's Raúl González with 11 goals. That haul included four goals in a 9-0 win against Austria on 27 March 1999 and a 19-minute hat-trick in San Marino four days later. A three-time UEFA Champions League winner with Real Madrid, the magnificent No7's EURO 2000 campaign ended badly, however, as he missed a crucial quarter-final penalty against France.
Where was EURO 2000 held?
Belgium and the Netherlands co-hosted EURO 2000 between 10 June and 2 July 2000, each nation providing four venues. Brussels' Roi Baudouin Stadium staged the opener, with Bruges' Jan Breydel Stadium, Liege's Stade Marcel Dufrasne and Charleroi's Stade du Pays de Charleroi also holding games. As well as the final venue, Rotterdam's Feijenoord Stadium, the Netherlands staged matches at the Amsterdam ArenA, the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven and Arnhem's GelreDome.
Who managed the winning team at EURO 2000?
Roger Lemerre had been assistant to Aimé Jacquet as France won the 1998 World Cup but took sole command thereafter and became the first boss of Les Bleus to win a major tournament on foreign soil (France having won EURO '84 and the world title as hosts). He had spent ten years in charge of France's army team before becoming part of the civilian set-up, and achieved a unique continental double in 2004 by guiding Tunisia to glory at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Who was the winning captain at EURO 2000?
Defensive midfielder Didier Deschamps switched from Juventus to Chelsea between winning the 1998 World Cup and EURO 2000. "A team needs a great general," coach Lemerre said after the EURO 2000 decider. "I hope he will stay on for a long time." As it was, Deschamps retired from international football soon afterwards with a then-record 103 France caps, but returned to the national fold as coach in 2012.
What was the format for EURO 2000?
Running from 10 June to 2 July 2000, EURO 2000 deployed the same format as EURO '96, with the top two sides in each of the four four-team groups (three points for a win, one for a draw) moving into the knockout phase. Group winners (Portugal, Italy, Spain and Netherlands) faced runners-up from other groups (Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia and France).
How many teams featured at EURO 2000?
There were 16 teams at the final tournament, while 49 UEFA member countries took part in qualifying (excluding co-hosts Belgium and the Netherlands).
How did EURO 2000 qualifying work?
With Belgium and the Netherlands qualifying automatically as hosts, the remaining 49 UEFA member nations entered a qualifying competition which involved nine groups (four of six teams, five of five). The nine group winners and best-ranked runners-up (Portugal) qualified for the finals directly, while the other eight runners-up competed in four play-off ties for the remaining slots at EURO 2000 (England, Denmark, Slovenia and Turkey prevailing).
Who was in the EURO 2000 squad of the tournament?
France's Zinédine Zidane was named Player of the Tournament, UEFA technical director Andy Roxburgh commenting: "I'm quite certain he has printed somewhere on his head 'made in heaven'. UEFA's technical team also selected a 22-man squad of the finals.
GK: Fabien Barthez (France)
GK: Francesco Toldo (Italy)
DF: Laurent Blanc (France)
DF: Lilian Thuram (France)
DF: Marcel Desailly (France)
DF: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
DF: Paolo Maldini (Italy)
DF: Alessandro Nesta (Italy)
DF: Frank de Boer (Netherlands)
MF: Demetrio Albertini (Italy)
MF: Patrick Vieira (France)
MF: Josep Guardiola (Spain)
MF: Rui Costa (Portugal)
MF: Edgar Davids (Netherlands)
MF: Luís Figo (Portugal)
MF: Zinédine Zidane (France)
FW: Thierry Henry (France)
FW: Savo Milosevic (Yugoslavia)
FW: Raúl González (Spain)
FW: Patrick Kluivert (Netherlands)
FW: Nuno Gomes (Portugal)
FW: Francesco Totti (Italy)
Who scored the first goal at EURO 2000?
Belgium's Bart Goor struck in the 43rd minute of the EURO 2000 opener against Sweden to set his side on course for a 2-1 win (though they would miss out on a knockout slot). The winger came to the tournament fresh from winning the first of four domestic league titles with Anderlecht. In the latter part of his career, Goor made headlines by promoting a hangover cure he had discovered with a business partner.
In terms of qualification, Kristen Viikmäe scored after 12 minutes as Estonia beat the Faroe Islands 5-0 in Tallinn on 4 June 1998 – the first EURO 2000 qualifier taking place fully two months and 15 days before the second. The Flora Tallinn striker was just 19, and would become (in May 2006, aged 27) the youngest player to win 100 caps though his record no longer stands. More recently, he coached Estonia's beach soccer team.
Five top facts about EURO 2000
• All the teams in Group D at the 2000 finals had previously won the competition (Netherlands, France, Czech Republic – as part of Czechoslovakia – and Denmark).
• In 2000, France became the only World Cup holders to win the UEFA European Championship; seven players were in the starting XIs for both finals.
• Yugoslavia drew 3-3 with Slovenia in their Group C opener, despite having Siniša Mihajlović dismissed on the hour. They were trailing 3-0 at the time.
• Francesco Toldo saved three penalties during Italy's semi-final triumph over the Netherlands: one in regulation time and two in the 3-1 shoot-out victory.
• Four sets of brothers featured: Patrick and Daniel Andersson (Sweden); Gary and Phil Neville (England); Frank and Ronald de Boer (Netherlands); and Emile and Mbo Mpenza (Belgium).