UEFA Euro 1996 in the context of "UEFA Euro 2016"

The 1996 Manchester bombing was an attack carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 15 June 1996. The IRA detonated a 1,500-kilogram (3,300 lb) lorry bomb on Corporation Street in the centre of Manchester, England. It was the biggest bomb detonated in Great Britain since the Second World War. It targeted the city's infrastructure and economy and caused significant damage, estimated by insurers at £700 million (equivalent to £1.3 billion in 2023), a sum surpassed only by the 1993 Bishopsgate bombing, also by the IRA.

At the time, England was hosting the Euro '96 football championship and a Russia vs. Germany match was scheduled to take place in Manchester the following day. The IRA sent telephoned warnings about 90 minutes before the bomb detonated. At least 75,000 people were evacuated from the region, but the bomb squad were unable to defuse the bomb in time. More than 200 people were injured, but there were no fatalities despite the strength of the bomb, which has been largely credited to the rapid response of emergency services in evacuating the city centre.

The Germany national football team (German: Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association (Deutscher Fußball-Bund), founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany (commonly referred to as West Germany in English between 1949 and 1990), the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.

Germany is one of the most successful national teams in international competitions, having won four FIFA World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014), tied with Italy, and only one fewer than the most successful team, Brazil. Having won three European Championships (1972, 1980, and 1996) Germany is second behind Spain, the record holder in that international competition with four. Germany also won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017. They have also been runners-up at the European Championship three times, and four times at the World Cup, with a further four third-place finishes at the World Cup. East Germany won Olympic Gold in 1976. Germany was the first, and is one of only two nations to have won both the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women's World Cup (the other being Spain). By combined World Cups, Germany stands as the most successful football nation in history with six World Cups – four for the men's team and two for the women's. At the end of the 2014 World Cup, Germany earned the second highest Elo rating of any national football team in history, with 2,223 points. Germany is also the only European nation that has won a FIFA World Cup in the Americas.

The Croatia national football team (Croatian: Hrvatska nogometna reprezentacija) represents Croatia in men's international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competition. The team's colours reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. They are colloquially known as the Vatreni (Blazers) and the Kockasti (Checkered Ones).

Since 2000, the Vatreni have qualified for every major tournament except UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. At the World Cup, Croatia has finished second once (2018) and third on two occasions (1998, 2022), securing three World Cup medals. Davor Šuker won the Golden Shoe and the Silver Ball in 1998, while Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball in 2018 and the Bronze Ball in 2022. The team has reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA European Championship twice (1996, 2008). They finished second in the UEFA Nations League in 2023.

A total of 946 goals have been scored in games at the men's 17 final tournaments of the UEFA European Championship, not counting penalties scored during shoot-outs. Since the first goal scored by Yugoslav player Milan Galić at the 1960 European Nations' Cup, exactly 545 footballers have scored goals at the Euro tournaments, of whom 39 have scored four or more.

Since in the beginning tournaments were contested between four teams and only two games were played, top goalscorers of the first three editions have scored only two goals. This was bettered in 1972, when West Germany's Gerd Müller scored four goals. Four years later this was matched by his compatriot Dieter Müller and finally in 1984 France's Michel Platini have scored record 9 goals in just 5 games. His record stood for more than three decades until Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 10th goal for Portugal at the UEFA Euro 2020. He has later improved his tally and stands at 14 goals in 30 appearances at the European Championship tournaments — also record. The top 39 goalscorers have represented 15 nations, with 7 players scoring for Germany or West Germany, 5 for France, and 4 for Netherlands. In total, only 6 of them have scored at tournaments with maximum of 8 teams (prior to UEFA Euro 1996).

The UEFA Euro 1996 final was the final match of UEFA Euro 1996, the tenth European Championship, UEFA's top football competition for national teams. The match was played at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 30 June 1996, and was contested between the Czech Republic and Germany.

En route to the final, both sides had been drawn in Group C, alongside Italy and Russia; Germany would defeat the Czech Republic 2–0 in their opening game and then go on to win the group, with the Czech Republic finishing second. Germany then defeated Croatia in the quarter-finals, before progressing to the final following a penalty shoot-out victory over hosts England in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic beat Portugal in the quarter-finals, before overcoming France in the semi-finals, also via a penalty shoot-out.

The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations). It took place in Austria and Switzerland (both hosting the tournament for the first time) from 7 to 29 June 2008.

The tournament was won by Spain, who defeated Germany 1–0 in the final. Spain were only the second nation to win all their group stage fixtures and then the European Championship itself, matching France's achievement from 1984. Spain were also the first team since Germany in 1996 to win the tournament undefeated.

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 July 2012, was co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine (both first time hosts), and was won by Spain, who beat Italy in the final at the Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Poland and Ukraine's bid was chosen by the UEFA Executive Committee on 18 April 2007. The two host teams qualified automatically while the remaining 14 finalists were decided through a qualifying competition, featuring 51 teams, from August 2010 to November 2011. This was the last European Championship to employ the 16-team finals format in use since 1996; from Euro 2016 onward, it was expanded to 24 finalists.

The Bulgaria national football team (Bulgarian: Български национален отбор по футбол, romanized: Bǎlgarski natsionalen otbor po futbol) represents Bulgaria in men's international football, and is administered by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA.

Bulgaria's best achievements are reaching the final at the 1968 Summer Olympics and the fourth-place finish at the FIFA World Cup in 1994. Bulgaria have competed at a total of seven World Cups, debuting in 1962 and last appearing in 1998. In addition, they have participated in two European Championships, in 1996 and 2004, the latter marking their most recent major tournament appearance. The team has also competed at and won three titles in the Balkan Cup.