Original Adidas football shirt Spain EURO 2004

The final round of the 2004 European Men's Football Championship was held in Portugal from June 12 to July 4. It was the first time that Portugal hosted the European Championship. Sixteen countries played in groups and finals in ten stadiums spread over eight cities.

The tournament was awarded to Portugal on October 12, 1999. This happened during a UEFA meeting in Aachen. The other candidates were Spain and the combination of Austria and Hungary. The designation of Portugal came as a surprise. It was generally expected that Spain would have the best chance of organizing. The fourteen members of the Executive Committee thought otherwise. Earlier in the day, all candidates had been given the opportunity to give a half-hour explanation.

Eusébio, the most famous footballer that Portugal produced, acted as ambassador for the candidacy since 1997. He was euphoric after the result. "This is fantastic," said the former attacker. "I'm just as happy as when I won the European Cup with Benfica in 1962 and scored twice in the final. We worked very hard for this for eighteen months. We had strong competition, but somehow I always have believed in."

Belgium did not reach the final round. It finished in third place in the group behind group winners Bulgaria and Croatia. Belgium had as many points as the Croats but finished in third place due to the head-to-head result. A second place would have given the right to a play-off, but that was not possible.

The Netherlands was placed in a qualifying group with the Czech Republic, Austria, Moldova and Belarus. Under the leadership of Dick Advocaat, who had previously been national coach (1992-1995), the Netherlands started qualifying for the European Championship 2004. It qualified through the back door after a diptych with Scotland in the play-offs for the European Championship (0- 1, 6-0).