TPO - Unlike the World Cup or Copa America, the EURO European Championship does not have a third-place match, allowing the two losing teams in the semi-finals to seek consolation prizes. Why is that?
At 7am tomorrow morning (July 14), one day before the 2024 Copa America final, the third-place match between Canada and Uruguay will take place. If they win, this can be considered a great achievement for Canadian football because it is held outside the CONCACAF region, which is not highly regarded. Organizing third-place matches is a common practice in international tournaments. The World Cup is an example, with the purpose of providing consolation prizes for the two teams that cannot make it to the final. At the same time, having an extra match also brings commercial benefits to the organizers. However, at EURO 2024, one day before the final between England and Spain at Olympiastadion, Berlin, the two losing teams in the semi-finals, France and the Netherlands, went home. Simply because there was no third-place match held. The European Championship in Germany only has a total of 51 matches, not 52.
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| Third place match between Czechoslovakia (formerly) and Italy at EURO 1980. |
According to UEFA's explanation, the decision to abolish the third-place match only started from EURO 1984. Previously, in the first 6 tournaments, this match was still held. The teams that won third place included Czechoslovakia (formerly), Hungary, England, Belgium, the Netherlands and once again Czechoslovakia (formerly). However, witnessing the boring match between Czechoslovakia (formerly) and Italy at EURO 1980, when the two teams drew 1-1 with the winner only being determined in the 9th penalty shootout, the European football governing body reconsidered. The lack of enthusiasm from the teams and the terrible drop in the number of spectators further reinforced the intention to abandon the match. In 1980, just over 24,000 spectators came to Stadio San Paolo to watch Italy play Czechoslovakia (formerly), nearly half the number of previous matches of the host country. EURO 1976 was even worse, with less than 7,000 people attending the third-place match, while the average audience per match was 26,500.
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| Canada and Uruguay will play the third-place match of Copa America 2024. |
Therefore, no similar matches have been held in the following EUROs, starting from EURO 1984 until now. The two losing teams in the semi-finals are tied for third place. They even received bronze medals in EURO 2008 and EURO 2012. But then UEFA also stopped awarding medals. The teams go home and receive money according to their achievements. Returning to Copa America, the South American championship is the opposite of EURO. In the past, the two losing teams in the semi-finals would be tied for third place instead of playing a qualifying match. It was not until 1987 that the match was held, but was canceled in the next two tournaments. Since 1993 until now, the third-place match has been held regularly, so that this time Canada has a chance to make history. Uruguay is not very excited. They have won the Copa America 15 times (1st, equal with Argentina), finished second 6 times and currently own the record of 9 third-place finishes. By the way, the CAN Cup (African Championship) also has a third-place match, but the Asian Cup (Asian Championship) does not. After 12 times of organization, starting from the 2019 Asian Cup until now, the two teams that stop before the final will leave with the title of third place.
Tienphong.vn
Source: https://tienphong.vn/tai-sao-euro-2024-khong-co-tran-tranh-hang-ba-post1654484.tpo
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