West Germany 2-1 Belgium   Euro 80 Final
The final lived up to the standards you expect to view in the final of a major tournament. West Germany were the first to lunge forward, and in only the fifth minute, Pfaff, the Belgium goalkeeper just managed to tip a Muller shot into the Belgian net. Belgium had difficulty getting back into the match after trailing 1-0. They were very fortunate to go into the second half only being one goal down. The German midfielder Briegel, went off during the beginning of the second period injured and consequently the German midfield fell apart, Belgium took full advantage of the situation and with only twenty minutes left, Stielike fouled Van Der Elst on the edge of the box and the referee controversially gave Belgium a penalty. Van Der Eychen duly equalized from the penalty spot and the match was now wide open. The German substitute Cullman finally started to get in touch with the pattern of the match. With only moments remaining Hrubesch headed into the Belgium net from a corner to break the deadlock. For all the West German’s determination and attacking play, they certainly deserved the victory.

Germany 2-1 Czech Republic   Euro 96 Final

The final was a repeat of the 1976 European Championships where the Czechs had defeated the Germans in a crucial penalty shoot out, to win the European championships. The Czechs played a canny game, taking the early advantage on the hour mark by a penalty scored by Patrick Berger. Berti Vogts made an inspired substitution by throwing on Oliver Bierhoff. With just over a quarter of an hour left, he rose at the far post to level the score line. In the fifth minute of extra time, Bierhoff latched on to a ball from Jurgen Klinsmann, turned, and struck a fierce shot. The ball took a slight deflection off Michael Hornak’s heel and the Czech goalkeeper, Petr Kouba, could only parry the ball into the back of the net. This was the first golden goal of the tournament and was the most crucial goal to this day in European Championship history.