The Netherlands first appearance in the UEFA European Championship was at Euro 1976. During qualification they win their group ahead of Poland and Italy, then went on to defeat Belgium. During the tournament they lost to Czechoslovakia in the semi-finals, but then defeated Yugoslavia in the third-place playoff match. They qualified for Euro 1980 over Poland and East Germany. Their opening match resulted in a win over Greece, but a loss to West Germany and a draw with Czechoslovakia kept them from advancing past the group stage. They failed to reach Euro 1984 despite finishing level on points with Spain during qualification.
During Euro 1988 the Netherlands qualified with wins over Greece, Hungary and Poland. During group stage they lost to the Soviet Union, but went on to defeat England and Ireland. In the semi-finals they defeated hosts Germany 2-1, and then beat the Soviet Union 2-0 in the final becoming champions. In Euro 1992 in the Fist Round they defeated Scotland and Germany, and drew with the CIS; they went on to lose the semi finals in a penalty shootout against eventual champions Denmark after 2-2. In Euro 1996 after a draw, win and loss respectively to Scotland, Switzerland and England, they went on to loss in a penalty shootout in the quarter finals to France after 0-0.
The Netherlands co-hosted the Euro 2000 tournament with Belgium. They won all of their group stage matches, against the Czech Republic, Denmark and France. In the quarter finals they defeated Yugoslavia 6-1 only to lose in the Semi finals after 0-0 in a penalty shootout against Italy. In Euro 2004 they drew their opening group stage match against Germany, then lost to the Czech Republic, followed by a win over Latvia. In the quarter finals they won in a penalty shootout to Sweden before losing the semi finals to hosts Portugal 2-1. In Euro 2008 the Netherlands opened with three wins, 3-0 against Italy, 4-1 against France and 2-0 against Romania. In the quarter finals in extra time they lost 3-1 to Russia. In Euro 2012 they lost all First Round matches, to Denmark, Germany and Portugal. The Netherlands failed to reach Euro 2016 after loses to the Czech Republic, Turkey and Iceland.
Euro 2020 saw the Netherlands win all First Round matches against Ukraine, Austria and North Macedonia, but then lose 2-0 to the Czech Republic in the Round of 16. In Euro 2024, they opened with a win over Poland, followed by a draw against France and a loss to Austria. In the Round of 16 they defeated Romania 3-0 followed by a 2-1 quarter final win against Turkey. In the semi finals they lost to England 2-1.
Source: UEFA Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Wins; 5) Lower disciplinary points total; 6) European Qualifiers overall ranking (or drawing of lots, if hosts Germany had been involved in the tiebreaker).[18] Notes: