One of the most prestigious soccer tournaments in the world crowned its latest champion: Italy won the 2021 UEFA European Championship, popularly known as the Euros or Euro 2021. It's the second Euro triumph for the Italians and first since 1968.
Italy beat England in the final at Wembley Stadium in a penalty-kick shootout that followed a 1-1 draw which persisted through extra time. Both goalkeepers stopped two penalty kicks in the shootout, but England missed one more attempt. Italy also survived a penalty shootout in the semifinal stage.
A total of 24 European nations battled it out during the month-long event. The Euros are traditionally hosted by a single country, but to celebrate the 60-year anniversary of the competition, hosting duties were expanded to include various nations: A total of 11 countries hosted Euro 2021 matches.
MORE: How Italy won the 2021 Euros
The tournament was scheduled to be held in the summer of 2020, but it was pushed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s why it is referred to as Euro 2020 in some places.
Euro 2021 TV & streaming in USA
- TV channels: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 (all 51 matches)
- Spanish-language TV: Univision, TUDN (11 of 51 matches)
- Streams: fuboTV (all 51 matches), ESPN app / ABC app, PrendeTV / TUDN.tv
The ABC and ESPN networks provided English-language coverage of the tournament with half-hour pregame shows. In addition to daily studio programming and simulcasts of the semis and final, ESPN+ carried a multi-feed second-screen experience for every game (aerial cam and two team-specific cams).
Univision handled Spanish-language coverage of the tournament via its free streaming platform PrendeTV (40 matches) and Univision and TUDN linear channels (11 matches).
Euro 2021: Tournament Format
It’s straightforward: There was a group stage followed by single-game knockout matches the rest of the way. Bracket style.
Group Stage: The 24 teams were split into six groups of four teams each. The top two teams from each group and the four best third-place finishers across all groups advanced to the Round of 16.
Knockout Stage: It started with the Round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final on July 11 at Wembley Stadium in London.
