Looking back on some of the biggest upsets in European Championship history

With spring in the air, there’s that unmistakable feeling that the football season is drawing to its inevitable conclusion. But this year, league and non-league fans alike have more to look forward to after the final whistle is blown on the domestic action. Yes, after a one-year delay, Euro 2020 will soon be a reality that will keep us glued to our TV screens throughout June. 

This is a tournament that has a habit of dishing up surprises. If you are fond of a wager, the best Euro 2020 odds are often to be found well below the obvious favourites. Can you predict this year’s surprise performers? To help you get in the mood, and maybe even to identify a pattern or two, we have come up with some of the biggest upsets from across the years.  

1988: Ireland shock England 

It’s fair to say that Ireland were thought to have done well to qualify for the main event in 1988, and when they went up against an England team that boasted the likes of Linekar, Barnes, Waddle and Beardsley, there could surely be only one winner. Looking back, Ray Houghton acknowledged that even back home in Ireland, “nobody thought we had a prayer.” Yet he nodded the ball past Shilton to find the back of the net in the sixth minute, and the Irish managed to hold off one furious assault after another to hang on to that one-goal lead till the final whistle. 

1992: Denmark win without even qualifying 

The first of two upsets that resulted in a rank outsider lifting the trophy, Denmark’s win in 1992 was all the more amazing as initially, they had not even qualified, and were drafted in at the last moment when Yugoslavia was excluded. The Danes made serene progress through the tournament, and they topped it off with a 2-0 win over the bookies’ choice, Germany. Kim Vilfort, who scored the first of those two goals, said “We couldn’t fail because there were no expectations on us.” 

2004: Greece is the word 

150/1 – those were the odds of Greece winning Euro 2004 before the tournament started. When they made it to the final in Lisbon, they were up against the hosts and Manager Otto Rehhagel was the first to admit that Portugal was the better team. However, he said it all came down to taking opportunities, and that’s something Greece did unflinchingly when it mattered. To put those odds into context, you’d need to successfully back Slovakia or the Czech Republic to win it this year to get a similar return. 

2016: Iceland freeze out England 

The round of 16 – it can be the biggest banana skin of them all, and we’ve seen favourites knocked out by surprise qualifiers time and again. England fans know that better than most, in an upset from the last tournament that shocked the world. When Rooney scored in the fourth minute, all seemed to be going to plan, but then two goals in rapid succession from Kolbeinn Sigthórsso changed everything. That proved to be the biggest surprise of them all last time out – but who knows what upsets are in store in Euro 2020?