The
Euro 2000 Participating Teams won a place at the final stage of this coveted tournament after going through a closely contested qualifying round. The qualifying stage continued for more than two years with 49 countries taking part in it. According to the UEFA rules, the host countries automatically secured berths in the finals.
Apart from the hosts Belgium and Netherlands, 14 other teams took part in Euro 2000. The teams are:
Portugal
Romania
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Turkey
Yugoslavia
Czech Republic
Denmark
England
France
Germany
Italy
Norway
The hot favorites of the tournament were reigning World Champion France, defending champion Germany and Italy. One of the hosts - Netherlands and England were also strong contenders. Portugal emerged as the surprise package of the tournament, reaching the semi-finals where they were beaten by eventual champion France. Slovenia and Norway made their first ever appearance in the Euro Finals.
One of the host countries, Belgium disappointed its fans when they lost in the group stage only. Italy on the other hand played like the champions but succumbed to pressure in the last few minutes of the final match. They surrendered their lead and finally lost to France by the golden goal.
