List of UEFA European Championship finals
Spain's national team celebrate with the trophy after winning the UEFA Euro 2012 Final
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| Founded | 1960 |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe (UEFA) |
| Number of teams | 53 (qualification) 24 (final tournament) |
| Current champions |
 Portugal (1st title) |
| Most successful team(s) |
 Germany Spain (3 titles each) |
The UEFA European Championship is an association football competition established in 1960. It is contested by the men's national teams of the members of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), the sport's European governing body, and takes place every four years. The winners of the first final were the Soviet Union, who defeated Yugoslavia 2–1 in Paris, after extra time. The most recent final, hosted in Paris in 2016, was won by Portugal, who beat France 1–0 after extra time.
The European Championship final is the last match of the competition, and the result determines which country's team is declared European champion. As of the 2016 tournament, if after 90 minutes of regular play the score is a draw, an additional 30-minute period of play, called extra time, is added. If such a game is still tied after extra time, it is decided by penalty shoot-out. The team that wins the penalty shoot-out are then declared champions. The 15 finals to-date have produced five drawn matches, the eventual winners of which have been determined variously by replay (1968), extra time (1960, 2016), penalty shoot-out (1976) or golden goal (1996, 2000). The winners are awarded a replica of the trophy (the original remains with UEFA), while the losing finalists and semi-finalists are presented with a plaque. Gold and silver medals are awarded to the players of the winning and losing finalists respectively.
Germany and Spain are the most successful teams in the history of the tournament, winning three times each. France has won the competition twice (the only other team to have won the competition more than once), while Yugoslavia qualified for the final twice without success. Greece, Netherlands and Denmark each won the European Championship on their only appearances in the final, the latter having replaced Yugoslavia on the eve of the 1992 tournament.
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