Only winners play again: This is how the European Championship continues after the semi-finals

The winners celebrate, the losers must leave Switzerland. The semifinals are the last match of the European Football Championship for two of the four remaining teams. Third place will not be played. For the German national team, there is only one goal: two more wins.

First tears and frustration, but then a reconciling joy: A match for third place like this at least allows one of the two semifinal losers to still be smiling and leave the tournament with a good feeling. The German national team recently had a positive experience with this. At last year's Olympic Games, Germany won the bronze medal.

But at the European Football Championship in Switzerland, there will be no happy ending for any of the losers. Because there is no third-place play-off. This means that two of the four teams – Germany or Spain, and England or Italy – will have to leave. Only the winner of their semifinal (today and tomorrow, both at 9 p.m., ARD/DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker) will be allowed to play another match. The grand final is on Sunday (6 p.m./ARD, DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker) . The DFB women, of course, want to be there. "We know what we're capable of. Our goal is still to win the title," says Sophia Kleinherne.

Of course, the Olympic Games decide who wins the bronze medal. And only one team receives the medal, unlike in judo, where the rules always stipulate two bronze medalists. The German women's team had previously won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games three times in a row: in 2000, 2004, and 2008.

"Not attractive"

FIFA also holds a third-place play-off. At the 2023 World Cup, Sweden secured third place, defeating hosts Australia 2-0. In the semifinals, the Swedes lost to eventual world champions Spain. For Germany, however, the third-place play-off has twice brought further frustration: in 2015, coach Silvia Neid's team lost to England, and in 1991 to Sweden. The German men, on the other hand, are familiar with the small success of third place at a World Cup, having beaten Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, after losing in the semifinals to eventual world champions Spain.

But for UEFA, after the semifinals, there's only the final. Why, exactly? "The match wasn't considered attractive and hasn't been part of the Euros since then," UEFA said in response to a dpa inquiry regarding the men's home European Championship last year. There are also no plans to reintroduce such a match at the next European Championships in Great Britain and Ireland in 2028 and Italy and Turkey in 2032. For the women's championship, the location of the next European Championship is still up in the air. The decision will be made in December—Germany is one of the candidates.

But there has been a small final in history. The last time it took place for the men was in 1980, and it hasn't been played since 1984. That same year saw the first-ever European Championship for women. The competition looked very different from today, with no host country and the ties being played over two legs in each country's home and away. Since it only started from the semi-finals onwards, only four teams were allowed to qualify. In the end, Sweden won the final 4-3 on penalties - and is the first European champion in the history of women's football. Also present at the tournament back then, by the way, was Pia Sundhage, the 65-year-old who coached the hosts at that European Championship in Switzerland.

A third-place play-off was not played between the other two participants, Denmark and Italy, at that time. However, this changed in 1987 at the second European Championship. That time, Italy beat England to secure third place behind European champions Norway and runners-up Sweden. Italy also participated in the third-place play-off in 1989 and 1991 – both times losing to West Germany in the semifinals. And both times, Italy also lost the semifinal, first to Sweden, then to Denmark.

DFB team takes part in the last third-place game

In 1993, Italy's time for revenge finally came: In the semifinals, they defeated the German national team. This also meant that Germany participated in the last third-place match in the history of the European Championship. Germany lost 3-1 to Denmark. Also present at the match were Silvia Neid, who would later become national coach, and Maren Meinert, now assistant coach to national coach Christian Wück. She scored Germany's only goal, the interim equalizer to make it 1-1.

Although no longer at the European Championships, UEFA itself also holds a third-place play-off at another tournament: the Nations League. The German men missed out on a place at the Final Four on home soil this summer. First they lost to Portugal, and then to France in the same third-place play-off. The women, on the other hand, were able to celebrate a small victory at the inaugural Nations League last year after a setback in the semi-finals. The team lost to France but managed to beat the Netherlands. They reached the Final Four again this year. The goal is of course the final, but reaching the small final promises a second chance for at least a conciliatory ending.