The knockout phase of
UEFA Euro 2012 began with the quarter-finals on 21 June 2012, and was completed on 1 July 2012 with the
final at the
Olympic Stadium in
Kyiv, won by Spain.[1] After the completion of the group stage on 19 June 2012, eight teams qualified for the quarter-finals (two from each group), which are to be played from 21 to 24 June 2012.[2][3] Host nations
Poland and
Ukraine failed to qualify for the quarter-finals, making it only the third time in
European Championship history that the host nation(s) failed to make it out of the group stage; at
Euro 2000, co-host
Belgium were eliminated at the group stage, and at
Euro 2008, co-hosts
Austria and
Switzerland also failed to qualify for the quarter-finals.
Format
Any game in the knockout stage that was undecided by the end of the regular 90 minutes was followed by 30 minutes of
extra time (two 15-minute halves). If scores were still level after 30 minutes of extra time, there would be a
penalty shootout (at least five penalties each, and more if necessary) to determine who progressed to the next round. As with every tournament since
UEFA Euro 1984, there was no
third place play-off.
Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the four groups qualified for the knockout stage.