Europe's own championship has been played every four years since Russia won the inaugural edition in 1960, crowning 10 different nations across 17 tournaments — a far narrower winners' circle than the World Cup would suggest for a continent this deep in footballing history. Spain's fourth title, won in 2024 on German soil, extended their own record as the tournament's most successful nation.
The Only Team to Ever Defend the Trophy
Spain's 2008 and 2012 titles remain the only back-to-back triumph in the competition's history — a side built around Xavi, Iniesta and Casillas that also won the World Cup in between, the closest any national team has come to a period of true tournament dominance in the modern era. No other nation has retained the trophy at the following edition.
Germany's three titles (1972, 1980, 1996) sit behind Spain at the top of the all-time list, with Italy and France on two apiece — Italy's most recent coming in 2021, a trophy lifted a year late after the pandemic pushed the tournament from 2020 into the following summer. The next edition, in 2028, will be the first EURO co-hosted by the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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See the all-time national team ranking