The Spanish national team is one of the favorites to win UEFA Euro 2024 and proved it in the group stage by finishing first with an ideal score, winning 3 out of 3 matches.
The team coached by Luis de la Fuente already knows what it means to lift the European trophy, in fact, they are the maximum winners of this competition with 3 titles along with another powerful team such as Germany.
Let’s take a detailed look at the three times that La Roja was crowned European champion in history, achieving something that no other team had ever done before.
UEFA Euro 1964
UEFA Euro 1964 was the second edition of the tournament and was played on Spanish soil, where the home team won its first title in history by defeating the Soviet Union 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Spain started winning with an early goal by Chus Pereda, who held the record for the fastest goal in a European Championship final until the last edition when Luke Shaw scored for England just 2 minutes after the match began.
The Soviet Union tied the game a few minutes later and the game remained that way until 6 minutes from the end, when Marcelino appeared to score with a header and give the first UEFA Euro to his country.
UEFA Euro 2008
UEFA Euro 2008 was played in Austria and Switzerland, with the final hosted in Vienna, and Spain had to wait 44 years to lift the second trophy in their history. The final match was played at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion and Spain defeated Germany 1-0 with a goal by the brilliant striker Fernando Torres.
Fernando Torres of Spain lifts the trophy with teammates after winning against Germany in the UEFA EURO 2008 Final match between Germany and Spain. Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
The team coached at the time by Luis Aragones was far superior to its opponent, in fact, Spain had seven shots on goal while Joachim Löw’s team had only one. With this second title, Spain would begin what became known as the “golden era“, when they would later be crowned World Cup champions in South Africa 2010 for the first time in their history and would win their third European title in the following edition.
UEFA Euro 2012
UEFA Euro 2012 was played in Poland and Ukraine with the final venue in Kiev. The final was played at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev between Spain and Italy, where La Roja had no trouble and defeated the Azzurri 4-0 with goals from David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata.
In this way, the Spaniards achieved a hat-trick of major titles in 4 years (EURO 2008, FIFA World Cup 2010 and EURO 2012), something that no national team had ever achieved before. They would also set the record for the biggest victory in a UEFA Euro final ever achieved.
