By Habeeb Akinfegbe
Spain are one of eight national teams to have been crowned FIFA World Cup champions, having won the 2010 tournament in South Africa, defeating the Netherlands 1–0 to become the first European team to win the title outside of Europe. They are currently the reigning European champions, having won back-to-back titles in Euro 2008 and Euro 2012,
defeating Germany and Italy in the respective finals. These three
successive titles make them the only national team so far with three
consecutive wins of either the applicable continental championship
or the World Cup. From 2008 to 2013, a six-year span, the national team
won FIFA Team of the Year, the second-most of any nation, behind only
Brazil. Between November 2006 and June 2009 Spain went undefeated for a record-equalling 35 consecutive matches before their upset loss to the United States, a record shared with Brazil.
The team's achievements have led many commentators, experts and former
players to consider the 2010 and 2012 Spanish sides among the best ever
international sides in world football.
Their first international competition as the Czech Republic was the UEFA Euro 1996, where they finished runners-up, and they have taken part in every European Championship since then. Historically the team participated in FIFA and UEFA competitions as Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, finishing second at the 1934 and 1962 World Cups and winning the European Championship in 1976. However, following the separation, they have only featured in one FIFA World Cup, the 2006 tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round of the competition. After the split with Slovakia, Czech Republic have never failed to
qualify for the European Football Championships, with their best finish
being second place in the 1996 edition of the tournament. Since then, they have advanced from the first round twice, in 2004 and 2012.
Turkey has qualified three times for the World Cup finals, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified four times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2016. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008. Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, beating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 along the way. Turkey lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. They did, however, go home with an award: the fair-play award, given to Alpay Özalan. Turkey qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2–1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0–0, and beat co-host nation Belgium 2–0, making it the first time in the history of the European Championship that a host nation had been eliminated in the first round, brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament where they were beaten 2–0 by Portugal. The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group. This marked a turning point for the national team as new players were introduced to the national team to create a new generation. Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in six years by finishing second behind Greece in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C to reach the European Championships. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match, they played Portugal and were beaten 2–0, but wins over Switzerland (2–1) and Czech Republic (3–2) – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages. Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time. The quarter-final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1–0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Şentürk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans and Croatia's coach, Slaven Bilić, who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. This complaint, however, was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey beat out Croatia in penalties 3–1.
They went into the semi-final against Germany
with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and
suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2–2 in the last minute of
the match, until Germany scored a third goal in the last few seconds
and Turkey was thus eliminated. Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals. Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012, together with Kazakhstan, Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Azerbaijan. The Turkish team reached the play-offs after beating Azerbaijan 1–0 but got eliminated 3–0 on aggregate by Croatia. Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, together with Iceland, Latvia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.
The Turkish team qualified for their first major tournament in eight
years as the best third-placed team after beating Iceland 1–0, with Selçuk İnan
netting a free kick in the 89th minute. The last time the team
qualified for the tournament, they finished 3rd by default after losing
to Germany 3–2 with a last minute goal by Philipp Lahm.
The modern Croatian team was formed in 1990, shortly before Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia, and by 1993 had gained membership in FIFA and UEFA. The team played their first competitive matches in the successful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 1996, leading to their first appearance at a major tournament. In Croatia's FIFA World Cup debut in 1998 the team finished third and provided the tournament's top scorer, Davor Šuker. Since becoming eligible to compete in international tournaments, Croatia have failed to qualify for only one World Cup (in 2010) and one European Championship (in 2000). On admission to FIFA, Croatia was ranked 125th in the world; following the 1998 World Cup campaign, the side rose to third place in the rankings, making it the most volatile team in FIFA Rankings history. Croatia's best results in UEFA Championships were quarter final finishes on their debut, in 1996, and in 2008. They did not qualify for the 2000 tournament.
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Spain are one of eight national teams to have been crowned FIFA World Cup champions, having won the 2010 tournament in South Africa, defeating the Netherlands 1–0 to become the first European team to win the title outside of Europe. They are currently the reigning European champions, having won back-to-back titles in Euro 2008 and Euro 2012,
defeating Germany and Italy in the respective finals. These three
successive titles make them the only national team so far with three
consecutive wins of either the applicable continental championship
or the World Cup. From 2008 to 2013, a six-year span, the national team
won FIFA Team of the Year, the second-most of any nation, behind only
Brazil. Between November 2006 and June 2009 Spain went undefeated for a record-equalling 35 consecutive matches before their upset loss to the United States, a record shared with Brazil.
The team's achievements have led many commentators, experts and former
players to consider the 2010 and 2012 Spanish sides among the best ever
international sides in world football.Their first international competition as the Czech Republic was the UEFA Euro 1996, where they finished runners-up, and they have taken part in every European Championship since then. Historically the team participated in FIFA and UEFA competitions as Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, finishing second at the 1934 and 1962 World Cups and winning the European Championship in 1976. However, following the separation, they have only featured in one FIFA World Cup, the 2006 tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round of the competition. After the split with Slovakia, Czech Republic have never failed to
qualify for the European Football Championships, with their best finish
being second place in the 1996 edition of the tournament. Since then, they have advanced from the first round twice, in 2004 and 2012.Turkey has qualified three times for the World Cup finals, in 1950, 1954, and 2002, although they withdrew from the 1950 event. Turkey has also qualified four times for the UEFA European Championship, in 1996, 2000, 2008, and 2016. They have reached the semi-finals of three major tournaments: the 2002 World Cup, the 2003 Confederations Cup, and Euro 2008. Turkey qualified for Euro 1996, beating both Switzerland and Sweden 2–1 along the way. Turkey lost all their matches without scoring a single goal. They did, however, go home with an award: the fair-play award, given to Alpay Özalan. Turkey qualified for Euro 2000 after winning a play-off against Ireland. Turkey lost their first match 2–1 to Italy, they drew their second match against Sweden 0–0, and beat co-host nation Belgium 2–0, making it the first time in the history of the European Championship that a host nation had been eliminated in the first round, brought Turkey into the last eight of the tournament where they were beaten 2–0 by Portugal. The Turkish team failed to qualify for Euro 2004 on play-offs due to a loss to Latvia after finishing second in their group. This marked a turning point for the national team as new players were introduced to the national team to create a new generation. Turkey qualified for their first international tournament in six years by finishing second behind Greece in UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group C to reach the European Championships. They were placed alongside Switzerland, Portugal, and the Czech Republic in Group A. In their first match, they played Portugal and were beaten 2–0, but wins over Switzerland (2–1) and Czech Republic (3–2) – both secured by late goals – brought qualification for the knockout stages. Again, Turkey knocked out a host nation – Switzerland – in the group stages for the second time. The quarter-final against Croatia was goalless after 90 minutes, and Croatia led 1–0 in the final minute of extra time, but another late Turkish goal by forward Semih Şentürk brought the game to penalties. The goal raised some controversy with Croatia fans and Croatia's coach, Slaven Bilić, who claimed that the goal had been scored after extra time had elapsed. This complaint, however, was overruled, and the game went into penalties. Turkey beat out Croatia in penalties 3–1.
They went into the semi-final against Germany
with just 14 outfield players available as a result of injuries and
suspensions, but scored first and were drawing 2–2 in the last minute of
the match, until Germany scored a third goal in the last few seconds
and Turkey was thus eliminated. Both Russia and Turkey were given bronze medals in the dressing rooms after the semi-finals. Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2012, together with Kazakhstan, Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Azerbaijan. The Turkish team reached the play-offs after beating Azerbaijan 1–0 but got eliminated 3–0 on aggregate by Croatia. Turkey were drawn in Group A in qualification for UEFA Euro 2016, together with Iceland, Latvia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.
The Turkish team qualified for their first major tournament in eight
years as the best third-placed team after beating Iceland 1–0, with Selçuk İnan
netting a free kick in the 89th minute. The last time the team
qualified for the tournament, they finished 3rd by default after losing
to Germany 3–2 with a last minute goal by Philipp Lahm.The modern Croatian team was formed in 1990, shortly before Croatia's independence from Yugoslavia, and by 1993 had gained membership in FIFA and UEFA. The team played their first competitive matches in the successful qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 1996, leading to their first appearance at a major tournament. In Croatia's FIFA World Cup debut in 1998 the team finished third and provided the tournament's top scorer, Davor Šuker. Since becoming eligible to compete in international tournaments, Croatia have failed to qualify for only one World Cup (in 2010) and one European Championship (in 2000). On admission to FIFA, Croatia was ranked 125th in the world; following the 1998 World Cup campaign, the side rose to third place in the rankings, making it the most volatile team in FIFA Rankings history. Croatia's best results in UEFA Championships were quarter final finishes on their debut, in 1996, and in 2008. They did not qualify for the 2000 tournament.
| UEFA European Championship record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Squad | Position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | |
| 1960 to 1992 | Part of  Yugoslavia |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
 1996 |
Quarter-final | 7th | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | Squad | 1st | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 5 | |
  2000 |
Did Not Qualify | 3rd | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 9 | |||||||||
 2004 |
Group Stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | Squad | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 5 | |
  2008 |
Quarter-final | 5th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | Squad | 1st | 12 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 28 | 8 | |
  2012 |
Group Stage | 10th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | Squad | 2nd | 12 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 7 | |
 2016 |
Qualified | 2nd | 10 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 5 | |||||||||
| Total | Quarter-final | 5/6 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 18 | 16 | – | – | 62 | 40 | 14 | 8 | 118 | 39 | |
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Twitter: @bizarre_comms
Facebook: Bizarre Communications
Email: bizarrecommunications@gmail.com
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