<P> The 2004 UEFA European Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2004 or simply Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations . The final tournament was hosted for the first time in Portugal, from 12 June to 4 July 2004, after their bid was selected on 12 October 1999, over those of Spain and Austria / Hungary . A total of thirty - one matches were played in ten venues across eight cities--Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Guimarães, Faro / Loulé, Leiria, Lisbon and Porto . </P> <P> As in the 1996 and 2000 editions, the final tournament was contested by 16 teams--the hosts plus the 15 teams that successfully overcame the qualification round, which began in September 2002 . Latvia secured their first participation in a major tournament after overcoming Turkey in the play - offs, while Greece returned to the European Championship after 24 years . </P> <P> The tournament was rich in surprises and upsets: Germany, Spain and Italy were eliminated in the group stage, while France, the defending champions, were knocked out in the quarter - finals by Greece . The Portuguese team recovered from an opening defeat against Greece to reach the final, eliminating England and the Netherlands along the way . For the first time in a major football tournament, the last match featured the same teams as the opening match . Portugal was defeated by Greece with a goal from Angelos Charisteas . Greece's triumph was unexpected, considering that they had only qualified for two other major tournaments, the UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where they failed to win a single match . As winners, Greece earned the right to represent Europe at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup . </P> <P> During the opening ceremony, one of the tableaux depicted a ship--symbolising the voyages of the Portuguese explorers--sailing through a sea that transformed into the flags of all competing countries . In the closing ceremony, Portuguese - Canadian singer Nelly Furtado performed her single and official tournament theme song, "Força". </P>

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