Spain became the first nation to win two consecutive European Championships, completing three straight major international titles from 2008 to 2012.
Key Facts
- Tournament dates
- 8 June – 1 July 2012
- Host nations
- Poland and Ukraine (first-time hosts)
- Total attendance
- 1,440,896 spectators
- Average attendance per game
- 46,481 spectators
- Teams in final tournament
- 16 teams
- Golden Boot winner
- Fernando Torres (Spain)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
UEFA awarded co-hosting rights to Poland and Ukraine on 18 April 2007. A qualifying competition involving 51 teams ran from August 2010 to November 2011, determining the 14 finalists alongside the two automatically qualified hosts. Five new stadiums were constructed and significant infrastructure investment was made at UEFA's request.
UEFA Euro 2012 was held at eight venues across Poland and Ukraine from 8 June to 1 July 2012, featuring 16 national teams. Spain defeated Italy in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv. The tournament set aggregate and per-game attendance records for the 16-team format, and Fernando Torres was named Golden Boot winner.
Spain became the only team to win back-to-back European Championships and completed an unprecedented run of three consecutive major titles (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012). Both host nations were eliminated in the group stage. Euro 2012 was the last edition to use the 16-team format; from Euro 2016 the competition expanded to 24 teams.
Result
at Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine