UEFA Euro 2016: 7 all-time Euro facts

Portugal only hosts that lost final

Rui Costa Portugal — A dejected Rui Costa waslks of after Portugal is defeated by Greece in the Euro 2004 final

The hosts are almost the automatic favourites to win the trophy. In fact, only twice has it ever happened that a host nation failed to qualify for the semi-finals. However, the success rate of a host winning the tournament after reaching the final is very high.

In fact, only once has any host side lost a final after reaching it in the first place—and it was none other than Portugal in the 2004 Euro final against the Greeks. A sturdy Greece defense held the fort and manage to scrape out a 1-0 win against the home side, lifting their first Euro in the process.

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Umid Kumar Dey has been writing at Sportskeeda since January 2015, focusing mainly on football, cricket and WWE. In that time, he has gone on to become one of the most-read writers on the website.

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Edited by Staff Editor