UEFA Euro 1996

UEFA Euro 96

England '96
Tournament details
Host country	England
Dates	8–30 June
Teams	16
Venue(s)	8 (in 8 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Germany (3rd title)
Runners-up	Czech Republic
Tournament statistics
Matches played	31
Goals scored	64 (2.06 per match)
Attendance	1,275,857 (41,157 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Alan Shearer (5 goals)
Best player(s)	Matthias Sammer
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The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 June 1996. It was the first European Championship to feature 16 finalists, following UEFA's decision to expand the tournament from eight teams.

Matches were staged in eight cities and, although not all games were sold out, the tournament holds the European Championship's second-highest aggregate attendance (1,276,000) and average per game (41,158) for the 16-team format,^[1] surpassed only in 2012.^[2]

The tournament was the first European Championship where three points were awarded for a win during the qualification and finals group stages, as opposed to the old system of two points for a win, reflecting the growing use of this system in domestic leagues throughout the world during the previous decade.

Germany won the tournament, beating the Czech Republic 2–1 in the final with a golden goal from Oliver Bierhoff during extra time; this was the first major competition to be decided using this method. This was also Germany's first major title won as a unified nation, adding to the two European Championship titles won by West Germany prior to reunification.