Since 1955 Europe has held a tournament known as the UEFA European Championship tournament or for short the European Cup. All the countries in Europe come together to battle in a tournament. Each country in Europe brings its top players from each of its greatest soccer teams in order to compete for the title of best European soccer team and its trophy. So, in 1955 the first European soccer cup was established and would continue to make history as more and more countries joined to play in this great tournament.

There are many different parts to the European Cup. It first starts with actually qualifying for the cup. Qualifying begins in the summer with three rounds and then a play off takes place. Teams who win these rounds are placed in the groups stage for September. Teams who lose these round don’t get to participate in the Cup at all. The group stage involves eight groups of four teams, with each club playing everyone else in that group home and away. The top two sides in each group move on to the round of 16 and the start of the knockout phase begins, while the third-placed team drops into the UEFA Europa League. As teams get eliminated there will be only two teams left to face each other in the final for title of best European soccer team.

The First European Cup was held in 1955, where thousands of people tuned in to watch this magnificent battle between countries. Some fans cheered on as their team continued to rise in ranks while others booed in disappointment as their teams were eliminated. Some teams persevered while others hung on by a thread fighting for their spot in the top two. That year 16 teams played in the cup some including Milan, Real Madrid, Saarbrucken, Rapid Wien, PSV, Essen, Hibernian, AGF, Reims, Djurgarden, Gwardia, and Servette. As teams got eliminated Real Madrid and Reims were the first two teams to advance to the finals of the first European Cup. The Cup ended with Real Madrid being the first ever team to win the first European Cup, beating Reims 4 to 3. It was a glorious day for Real Madrid as they raised the first trophy of the European Cup over their heads.

The 2020 Euro Cup this year (the cup this year classified under 2020 do to the cancelling of the cup of last year due to COVID 19) is most exciting as 24 teams have entered the tournament and fans are at their edge of their seats watching the tournament this year. So far the teams that have been eliminated so far is Turkey, Finland, Russia, North Macedonia, Scotland, Poland, and Hungary. The teams that have qualified to move on are Italy, Wales, Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Austria, Ukraine, England, Croatia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Spain,  France, Germany, and Portugal. This far in the tournament teams have entered round 16, also known as the knockout round. From here on teams must win each round in order to advance, there are no second chances. If a team loses they are to be considered eliminated from the tournament. This years Cup should be most exciting and it is highly recommended to watch this years European Cup as it is known to be the best tournament yet.