The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations. The tournament, which was hosted by Austria and Switzerland, began on 7 June 2008, and concluded with the final at Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna on 29 June 2008. The second jointly-hosted edition in the competition's history, the tournament was eventually won by Spain, defeating Germany 10 in the final; becoming only the second nation to win all their group stage fixtures and win the European Championship itself�a milestone also achieved by France in 1984. Spain were also the first team since Germany in 1996 to win the tournament undefeated.
Greece were the defending champions going into the tournament, having won UEFA Euro 2004, the previous edition of the competition. However, they recorded amongst the worst finishes in Euro 2008, collecting the least amount of prize money and gaining no points in their only three group fixtures. Throughout 31 matches, the participating nations totalled 77 goals, the same as the previous tournament. Austria and Switzerland automatically qualified as hosts; the remaining 14 teams were determined through qualifying matches, which began in August 2006. As European champions, Spain earned the right to compete for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
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