UEFA Euro 1996
10th European association football championship / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 June 1996. It was the first European Championship to feature 16 finalists, following UEFA's decision to expand the tournament from eight teams.
| England '96 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | England |
| Dates | 8–30 June |
| Teams | 16 |
| Venue(s) | 8 (in 8 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Germany (3rd title) |
| Runners-up |  Czech Republic |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 31 |
| Goals scored | 64 (2.06 per match) |
| Attendance | 1,275,857 (41,157 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Alan Shearer (5 goals) |
| Best player(s) | Matthias Sammer |
← 1992 2000 → | |
Matches were staged in eight cities and, although not all games were sold out, the tournament holds the European Championship's second-highest aggregate attendance (1,276,000) and average per game (41,158) for the 16-team format,[1] surpassed only in 2012.[2]
The tournament was the first European Championship where three points were awarded for a win during the qualification and finals group stages, as opposed to the old system of two points for a win, reflecting the growing use of this system in domestic leagues throughout the world during the previous decade.
Germany won the tournament, beating the Czech Republic 2–1 in the final with a golden goal from Oliver Bierhoff during extra time; this was the first major competition to be decided using this method. This was also Germany's first major title won as a unified nation, adding to the two European Championship titles won by West Germany prior to reunification.