Is there a third-place play-off at Euro 2020?
Euro 2020 won't have a third-place play-off, with the losers of both semi-finals exiting the competition at the same stage. Despite the World Cup, Copa America, and African Cup of Nations all having a third-place play-off, UEFA decided to scrap the game for the Euros after 1980. The European Championship in Italy that year saw Czechoslovakia beat the hosts 9-8 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time. However, after a smaller-than-usual crowd and poor television viewership in relation to the rest of the tournament, UEFA decided the game wasn't worthwhile. The Euros had featured a third-place play-off since the tournament's inception in 1960. Eight teams competed at the Euros in 1980, but there were fewer games because the winner of each group advanced straight to the final, while both groups' second-place team played in the third-place play-off. To counteract the abolishment of this game, UEFA introduced a new tournament format - semi-finals were added with the same number of eight teams. This stayed until Euro 96, when the competition expanded to 16 teams. Now, with the tournament further expanded to 24 teams, UEFA still hasn't reimplemented the third-place play-off. Italy and Spain meet in the first semi-final on Tuesday night, before England take on Denmark. Both games are at Wembley, which will also host the final on Sunday 11 July. However, the losers in the semi-final won't play another game in the tournament, like England did at the 2018 World Cup in the third-place play-off against Belgium, in which they lost.