The competition is contested by UEFA members' senior men's national teams, determining the continental champion of Europe.

The most recent championship, held in Germany in 2024, was won by Spain, who lifted a record fourth European title after beating England 2–1 in the final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

Starting in 1883, the British Home Championship was an annual competition contested between the United Kingdom's four national teams, England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

[17] Of the 17 teams that entered the qualifying tournament, notable absentees were England, the Netherlands, West Germany and Italy.

[20] The hosts beat the title holders, the Soviet Union, 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid.

[27] Belgium hosted the 1972 tournament, which West Germany won, beating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final, with goals coming from Gerd Müller (twice) and Herbert Wimmer at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

[28] This tournament would provide a taste of things to come, as the German side contained many of the key members of the 1974 FIFA World Cup-winning team.

After seven successful conversions, Uli Hoeneß missed, leaving Czechoslovakian Antonín Panenka with the opportunity to score and win the tournament.

An "audacious" chipped shot,[31] described by UEFA as "perhaps the most famous spot kick of all time" secured the victory as Czechoslovakia won 5–3 on penalties.

[33] West Germany won their second European title by beating Belgium 2–1, with two goals scored by Horst Hrubesch at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

With two minutes remaining, Hrubesch headed the winner for West Germany from a Karl-Heinz Rummenigge corner.

[39][40] The Netherlands went on to win the tournament in a rematch of their first game of the group stage, beating the Soviet Union 2–0 at the Olympiastadion in Munich.

[43][44] The Danes beat holders the Netherlands on penalties in the semi-finals,[45] then defeated world champions Germany 2–0.

[48] The surprise team of the tournament was the newly formed Czech Republic, participating on its first international competition following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which reached the final after beating Portugal and France in the knockout stage.

Germany would go on to win the final 2–1 thanks to the first golden goal ever in a major tournament, scored by Oliver Bierhoff five minutes into extra time.

[52] UEFA Euro 2004, like 1992, produced an upset: Greece, who had only qualified for one World Cup (1994) and one European Championship (1980) before, beat hosts Portugal 1–0 in the final (after having also beaten them in the opening game) with a goal scored by Angelos Charisteas in the 57th minute to win a tournament for which they were considered among the biggest underdogs.

The 2008 tournament, hosted by Austria and Switzerland, marked the second time that two nations co-hosted and the first edition where the new trophy was awarded.

[60] Spain defeated Germany 1–0, with a goal scored by Fernando Torres in the 33rd minute, sparking much celebration across the country.

Portugal, which qualified for the knock-out phase despite finishing third in its group, went on to win the championship by defeating heavily favoured host team France 1–0 in the Final, thanks to a goal from Eder in the 109th minute.

[73] In December 2012, however, UEFA announced that the 2020 tournament would be hosted in several cities in various countries across Europe, with the semi-finals and final being played in London.

[77] On 17 March 2020, UEFA announced that Euro 2020 would be delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, and proposed it take place from 11 June to 11 July 2021.

The competition was postponed in order to reduce pressure on the public services in affected countries and to provide space in the calendar for the completion of domestic leagues that had been suspended.

[78] Before the Euro 2020, Dublin was also removed as one of the host cities due to its inability to guarantee spectators to the stadium, while Bilbao was replaced by Seville for the same reason.

[79][80] In the Final, Italy defeated maiden finalists England 3–2 on penalties, after the game was tied 1–1 after extra time, to win their second European Championship.

This trophy bore the words Coupe d'Europe ("European Cup"), Coupe Henri Delaunay ("Henri Delaunay Cup"), and Championnat d'Europe ("European Championship") on the front and a juggling boy on the back.

The names of the winning countries that had appeared on the plaques glued to the plinth are now engraved on the back of the trophy,[84] under the word Coupe Henri Delaunay and are written in English rather than French its predecessor had.

In 2007, there was much discussion about an expansion of the tournament to 24 teams, started by Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, due to the increased number of football associations in Europe after the break-ups of Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, and the inclusion of Israel and Kazakhstan.

The new president of UEFA, Michel Platini, was reported to be in favour of expansion which proved an accurate assumption.

The top two teams then qualified for the final tournament, with remaining places decided by playoffs depending on their ranking in the UEFA Nations League.