European Championships 'Groups of Death'

Apparently the term "group of death" was first used at the 1970 World Cup by Mexican journalists (using the Spanish phrase "Grupo de la Muerte") to describe the difficulty of the tournament's Group 3, which featured England (the reigning World Cup champions), Brazil (the pre-tournament favourites) and tricky East-European opponents Czechoslovakia (runners-up in 1962) and Romania.

Up to the 1992 tournament, there were never more than two groups at the European Championships finals, so our list starts with Euro 96, the first European Championship tournament to feature 4 groups.

2016 European Championships - Group of Death - Group E

  • 6 Pts Italy (Qualified)
  • 6 Pts Belgium (Qualified)
  • 4 Pts Republic of Ireland (Qualified)
  • 1 Pts Sweden

2012 European Championships - Group of Death - Group B

  • 9 Pts Germany (Qualified)
  • 6 Pts Portugal (Qualified)
  • 3 Pts Denmark
  • 0 Pts Netherlands

2008 European Championships - Group of Death - Group C

  • 9 Pts Netherlands (Qualified)
  • 4 Pts Italy (Qualified)
  • 2 Pts Romania
  • 1 Pts France

2004 European Championships - Group of Death - Group D

  • 9 Pts Czech Republic (Qualified)
  • 4 Pts Netherlands (Qualified)
  • 2 Pts Germany
  • 1 Pts Latvia

2000 European Championships - Group of Death - Group A and Group Group D

Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands was unique in Group of Death history as the media couldn't decide which was the hardest group, between Group A and Group D.

Group A featured reigning champions Germany along with highly-fancied Portugal, a rejuvenated England, and a talented Romanian side.

  • 9 Pts Portugal (Qualified)
  • 4 Pts Romania (Qualified)
  • 3 Pts England
  • 1 Pts Germany

Group D looked equally daunting, with co-hosts the Netherlands, France (the World Cup champions and pre-tournament favourites), the Czech Republic (runners up in 1996) and Denmark.

  • 9 Pts Netherlands (Qualified)
  • 6 Pts France (Qualified)
  • 3 Pts Czech Republic
  • 0 Pts Denmark

1996 European Championships - Group of Death - Group C

  • 7 Pts Germany (Qualified)
  • 4 Pts Czech Republic (Qualified)
  • 4 Pts Italy
  • 1 Pts Russia