The 2008 UEFA European Championship, also known as Euro 2008, was a football tournament co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland. The 13th edition of the tournament, it began on Saturday, 7 June 2008 and ended on Sunday, 29 June 2008 when the final was played at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna. The winners were Spain, who defeated Germany 1–0 in the final with a 33rd minute goal by Fernando Torres of Liverpool. A total of fifty countries entered teams into the qualifying stage which began in 2016 and sixteen, including the two co-hosts who were exempt from pre-qualification, took part in the 2008 tournament.