UEFA president Michel Platini has tipped either Spain or Germany to emerge as victors during the upcoming European Championship.
Speaking at a gathering in Nyon, the 56-year-old set both of the finalists from the last edition of the competition apart from the rest of the crop, and said that both sides would be the teams to beat in Ukraine and Poland.
"As far as the favourites go, I always differentiate between those who can win and those who will be hard to beat," Platini said. "Germany and Spain belong to the first category, pretty much all the others belong to the second."
The France legend added that Germany's relative inexperience going into the tournament, with the youngest squad on average among all 16 competitors, may make them more eager to win the trophy.
"Germany are slightly younger, but the Germans are hungry. Spain, on the other hand, will try to defend their title with the same generation of players."
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Rank | Team | W/D/L | Pts |
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Cities & Stadiums
The Top 3 Teams of Previous Tournaments
Year | Winners | Runner-up | Third place |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Spain | Germany | Russia / Turkey |
2004 | Greece | Portugal | Netherlands / Czech Republic |
2000 | France | Italy | Netherlands / Portugal |
1996 | Germany | Czech Republic | France / England |
1992 | Denmark | Germany | Netherlands / Sweden |
1988 | Netherlands | Soviet Union | Italy / West Germany |
1984 | France | Spain | Denmark / Portugal |
1980 | West Germany | Belgium | Czechoslovakia |
1976 | Czechoslovakia | West Germany | Netherlands |
1972 | West Germany | Soviet Union | Belgium |
1968 | Italy | Yugoslavia | England |
1964 | Spain | Soviet Union | Hungary |
1960 | Soviet Union | Yugoslavia | Czechoslovakia |