Italy has one of the best records in the FIFA World Cup, but at the UEFA European Championships, the Azzuri’s form is not always so good. The Italians have seldom matched their World Cup triumphs in the European Championships. The Azurri have still played some great games in the championships. These are a few of the great Italian games played at the European Championships.
In 1968, Italy hosted the UEFA European Championship, which was then a four-team cup in the finals. There were more matches played in the qualifying stages, but the Italians still reached the final without actually winning a game in the finals. In the semi-finals, they came up against the USSR in a game that ended without a goal scored by either side. With no penalty shoot-outs, the referee flicked a coin to decide the semi-final. As the Italians won the coin toss, they won the match.
Their goalkeeper Zoff recalled: “It was a memorable game and we played very well. It was special for me because I was playing for Napoli at that time. The atmosphere was incredible as the San Paolo was completely sold out.“
In the final, Italy played Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia had a good team and went a goal up in the game. Near the end of the match, the Italians had a free-kick from which they equalized. Dino Zoff conceded, with the final drawn, Italy showed a replay in which Luigi Riva was influential. They scored twice in the first half to seal a 2-0 win. As such, they lifted the European Championship trophy for the first time on Italian soil.
At Euro 2012, Italy reached the quarter-finals with a victory against Ireland. Having finished second in their group, they came up against England. After the first half, the Italians dominated for much of the game, but could not score a winning goal. They dominated possession with the majestic Andrea Pirlo pulling the strings in midfield. Twice they hit the woodwork as England held firm.
After the extra period, the game remained 0-0. As such, it went to a penalty shoot-out in which the Italians emerged victorious. They should have won the game 3-0, but the lottery of the shoot-out was enough to seal their place in the semi-finals.
After defeating England in the quarter-finals, Italy played a strong German team in the semi-finals. Mario Balotelli was influential during the first half. The striker put Italy a goal up, and extended their lead with a thunderous second shortly before the interval.
The Italians had a great first half, and in the second, there was little way back for Germany. The referee gave a late German penalty, duly converted to make the score 2-1. The Italians held out for the 2-1 victory to clinch their place in the Euro 2012 final. That game was something of a whitewash as a rampant Spain ran out 4-0 winners.
Italy played England in the final of the rescheduled Euro 2020. That was the match in which the Italians ended their European Championship drought with a victory against England. England had the Wembley home advantage for this match, but that didn’t intimidate the Italians in any way.
The game did not start well for Italy, with England taking an early lead. The Italians got back into the match during the second half when Leonardo Bonucci equalized. The match finished 1-1 and went to penalties, with Italy emerging triumphant in the shootout.
Those Italian victories at Euros were among their best-ever games. The Italians’ most recent triumph in the European Championships reaffirmed the Azzuri to be among the very top sides in Europe after the failure to qualify for the World Cup. The inconsistent Italians failed to qualify for the World Cup again thereafter and lost in the last 16 of Euro 2024.
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter here. Check out Stadium Rant Original shows on our Youtube channel and subscribe! Give our socials Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok a follow for more great content!
