In football tournaments worldwide, the losing semi-finalists are typically required to participate in a third-place play-off. This tradition is upheld in the World Cup, the Copa America and the Africa Cup of Nations.
However, there will be no such match at Euro 2024, with France and the Netherlands set to depart immediately following their semi-final losses.
The European Championships, which began in 1960, originally included a third-place play-off as part of its format. In the inaugural edition, Czechoslovakia triumphed over France 2-0.
However, UEFA decided to eliminate the play-off from the tournament starting in 1984.
Interestingly, the Czechs also claimed victory in the last-ever third-place play-off at a Euros, defeating host nation Italy 9-8 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regular time. Other nations that have won third place include Hungary (1964), Belgium (1972) and the Netherlands (1976), reports the Mirror.
England also secured a win in the third-place play-off in 1968, just two years after their World Cup victory on home turf. After losing to Yugoslavia in the semi-finals, they faced off against the Soviet Union for the bronze medal.
This match took place two and a half hours before the final at the same Stadio Olimpico venue in Rome. Goals from Bobby Charlton and Geoff Hurst led England to secure the bronze medal.
However, after the third-place match in 1980, UEFA chose to discontinue these games due to low interest both in terms of stadium attendance and television viewership. Instead, the bronze medals were awarded to the teams that lost in the semi-finals.
This was a common occurrence until Euro 2016, when UEFA decided to abandon this tradition. Consequently, following their losses this week, both France and the Netherlands were sent packing.
Spain triumphed over Les Bleus, thanks to an extraordinary goal from Lamine Yamal and a superb strike by Dani Olmo. Manager Didier Deschamps has faced scrutiny over his future, although it appears he will retain his position.
On the other hand, England ousted the Netherlands, courtesy of Ollie Watkins’ last-minute winner. However, manager Ronald Koeman was incensed by the penalty that allowed Harry Kane to level the score after VAR identified a foul on the England captain in the penalty area.
“As a former defender myself, what could he do in that position? ” questioned Koeman. “He tried to block the ball … To penalise that is to tell him we cannot play properly football. I think that we cannot play properly football and this is due to VAR. It really breaks football.
“We should be proud because we’ve achieved many things in these weeks and there’s no criticism after seeing how my player fought until the end. We have fought like lions. We just needed a little more balance and the English team did it better than us, so congratulations to them.”