UEFA Euro 2012 in October 2011, the nine group winners qualified automatically, along with the highest ranked second placed team. The remaining eight-second placed teams contested two-legged play-offs, and the four winners qualified for the finals. Twelve of the sixteen finalists participated at the previous tournament in 2008. England and Denmark made their return to the Euro, having last participated in 2004, while Republic of Ireland returned after a twenty-four-year absence to make their second appearance at a European Championship. One of the co-hosts, Ukraine, made their debut as an independent nation (before 1992 Ukraine participated as part of the Soviet Union). With
2012 WNBA Finals to three games by the Seattle Storm, winning Game 3 by one point. The Lynx then swept the Los Angeles Sparks in the Western Conference Finals, which gave them a chance to defend their 2011 WNBA title. The Minnesota Lynx won the season series 2–0: 2012 WNBA Finals The 2012 WNBA Finals was the series for the 2012 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Minnesota Lynx, champions of the Western Conference, faced the Indiana Fever, champions of the Eastern Conference. The Fever defeated the Lynx three games to one becoming