UEFA Euro 2008 final

The UEFA Euro 2008 final was the final match of UEFA Euro 2008, the thirteenth edition of the European Championship, UEFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, Austria, on 29 June 2008, and was contested between Germany and Spain.

The sixteen-team tournament consisted of a group stage, from which eight teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Germany finished second in Group B, with a defeat to Croatia between the wins over Poland and Austria. They then defeated Portugal in the quarter-finals, and Turkey in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Spain finished top of Group D following three wins coming against Russia, Sweden and Greece. They then defeated Italy on penalties in the quarter-finals, before securing a second victory over Russia in the semi-finals.

The final took place in front of 51,428 supporters, and was refereed by Roberto Rosetti from Italy. Spain scored the match's only goal in the 33rd minute through Fernando Torres, winning 1–0 to secure their second European Championship title and their first since 1964. Goalscorer Torres was named UEFA's man of the match.

Spain's victory marked the start of a period of dominance for the team, which saw them go on to lift the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, before then retaining their European title at Euro 2012. As winners, Spain also qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa as UEFA's representative.

UEFA Euro 2008 was the 13th edition of the UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA's football competition for national teams, held between 7 and 29 June 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Qualifying rounds were held between August 2006 and November 2007, in which fifty teams were divided into seven groups of seven or eight, playing each other on a home-and-away round-robin tournament basis. The top two teams in each group, along with the two host teams, qualified for the sixteen-team finals. There, they were divided into four groups of four with each team playing one another once. The two top teams from each group advanced to a knock-out phase.

Germany had won the title as West Germany in 1972 and in 1980, and again in 1996 as Germany. In the previous international tournament, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, they were knocked out in the semi-final to Italy, before winning the third-place play-off against Portugal. Spain had advanced to the round of 16 in 2006, in which they were defeated by France. Spain had won the European Championship once before, in 1964. The UEFA Euro 2008 Final was the nineteenth meeting between Germany and Spain, eight of the previous matches being won by Germany, five by Spain, and six draws. They had last faced each other in a competitive game in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup, which finished as a 1–1 draw. Greece were the defending champions after winning the 2004 final against Portugal.

The final was held on 29 June 2008 at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, the largest stadium of the eight venues used in the finals of Euro 2008. Opened in 1931, the Ernst-Happel-Stadion was built for the second International Workers' Olympiad. Serving as Austria's national stadium, it had previously hosted finals of the UEFA Champions League, including those in 1964, in 1987, in 1990 and in 1995. The capacity of the stadium was increased before the tournament by the addition of temporary stands in front of the permanent stands.

Germany were pre-tournament favourites to win the final, followed by Spain, although the latter's manager Luis Aragonés cautioned that "Nobody should be deceived by Spain because in the major tournaments we haven't done anything."