UEFA Euro 2012 two consecutive European Championships, and also three straight major tournaments (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012). Spain had already gained entry to the 2013 Confederations Cup by winning the 2010 World Cup, so runners-up Italy qualified instead. As at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, both 2012 host nations were eliminated in the group stage. The hosting of the event was initially contested by five bids representing seven countries: Croatia–Hungary, Greece, Italy, Poland–Ukraine, and Turkey. In November 2005, after an initial consideration of the bid data by UEFA, both the Greek and Turkish bids were eliminated from the
UEFA Euro 2012 Group C UEFA Euro 2012 Group C Group C of UEFA Euro 2012 began on 10 June 2012 and ended on 18 June 2012. The pool consisted of Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland and Croatia. Spain and Italy progressed to the quarter-finals, while Croatia and Republic of Ireland were eliminated from the tournament. Republic of Ireland equalled the worst performance by a team in the group stage of the European Championships, finishing with no points and a goal difference of −8. Both Spain and Italy made it through the quarter-finals and semi-finals to reach the final for a second meeting in the