30 June 1996 - Bierhoff Strikes Gold

On 30 June 1996, Germany won the UEFA Euro Final with a golden goal in the 95th minute, defeating the Czech Republic 2-1 before a crowd of 73,611 at London's Wembley Stadium.

The teams met earlier in the tournament during the group stage. Germany won by the comfortable margin of 2-0, with both goals coming in the first half.

The goals did not come so quickly for Germany in the Final, as the first half ended scoreless. The Czechs went ahead 1-0 in the second half when midfielder Patrik Berger converted a penalty kick in the 59th minute. In the 69th minute, with the Czech Republic still ahead, German manager Berti Vogts replaced midfielder Mehmet Scholl with forward Oliver Bierhoff. The substitution worked, as Bierhoff equalized for Germany with his first goal of the tournament four minutes later, and regulation time ended with the match tied 1-1.

The 1996 tournament was the first European championship to apply the Golden Goal rule, which meant that the game ended upon the scoring of a goal in extra time. If, after two periods of extra time, no goal were scored, the match would be decided by penalty kicks.

As it turned out, however, no penalty kicks were needed. Bierhoff scored his second goal of the match (and the tournament) in the 95th minute, giving Germany the 2-1 win and the 1996 UEFA Euro title. It was the first major tournament to be decided by a golden goal.

29 June 1950 - The Miracle On Grass

On 29 June 1950, the United States pulled off one of the most improbable upsets in football, defeating England 1-0 in a World Cup group stage match before a crowd of over 10,000 at the Estádio Raimundo Sampaio in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

England had dominated international football after World War II, winning 23 matches, drawing three and losing only four. They also had forward Stanley Matthews, considered by many to be the best footballer of the era. The 1950 tournament was England's first World Cup, as they had not entered the previous tournaments, and expectations were high. Oddsmakers pegged England as 3-1 favorites to win the title.

The United States, by contrast, had lost their last seven matches (a series stretching back to the 1934 World Cup) by the combined score of 45-2, including a 3-1 loss to Spain four days prior. Eight of the US starting 11 were US-born citizens, while the other three - forward Joe Gaetjens, defender Joe Maca, and the US captain, midfielder Ed McIlvenny - were citizens of Haiti, Belgium, and Scotland, respectively, who qualified under the rules at the time by declaring their intent to apply for US citizenship (though, of the three, only Maca eventually became a US citizen).

Matthews had missed England's first match, a 2-0 win against Chile, and was left on the bench against the US, as England's selection committee, over the manager's objection, opted not to change a winning side. The decision was heavily scrutinized after the match; however, even without Matthews, England appeared to be in control, dominating possession and taking 20 shots to the US's one.

It was the one that mattered, though. In the 38th minute, American defender Walter Bahr sent a high, arcing ball into the England penalty area. As English keeper Bert Williams rushed to collect it, Gaetjens ducked, sending the ball off the back of his head and into the net. England applied frantic pressure in an attempt to equalize, but were denied by a combination of the woodwork and the sensational play of American keeper Frank Borghi.

Although the US were eliminated from the tournament after their next match, a 5-2 loss to Chile, and did not qualify for another World Cup until 1990, the 1-0 victory over England is considered a pivotal moment for the US national team.

28 June 2006 - Yugoslavia Yu-Goes Away

On 28 June 2006, the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro (the FSSCG) split into two separate associations: the Football Association of Serbia (the FSS) and the Football Association of Montenegro (the the FSCG). The split eliminated the last football remnants of a unified Yugoslavia, as all of its former republics now had their own associations.

The Yugoslavian national football team had existed in various forms since 1920, when it represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Its most successful squad during that period was the 1930 team, which reached the World Cup semifinals.

After a hiatus from 1941 to 1945 due to World War II, the team re-emerged under the banner of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. They enjoyed a strong period in the 1960s, finishing in fourth place at the 1962 World Cup and reaching the Final in both the 1960 and 1968 UEFA European Championships. At that time, Yugoslavia comprised six regional republics - Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia - as well as two autonomous provinces - Kosovo and Vojvodina.

In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia declared their independence, triggering the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic. In 1992, Serbia and Montenegro established the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Despite finishing at the top of their qualifying group for the 1992 UEFA European Championship, the Federal Republic was banned from participating in the tournament due to the ongoing civil wars among the former Yugoslav states. FIFA also banned it from participating in the 1994 World Cup.

In 2003, the Federal Republic officially dropped the name "Yugoslavia" and changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro for both the state and the national team. Montenegro then declared its independence from Serbia in 2006, resulting in the split between the two football associations and ending the last political union between former Yugoslav republics. FIFA recognizes the Serbian side as the successor to Yugoslavia.

At present, Serbia is at the top of its qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup, while Montenegro is near the bottom of its group.

27 June 2006 - This Ronaldo Played For Real Madrid, Too

On 27 June 2006, Brazilian striker Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima scored in a World Cup match against Ghana. It was Ronaldo's 15th World Cup goal, breaking the previous record of 14 which had been set in 1974 by West German striker Gerhard "Gerd" Müller.

Ronaldo had already netted twice in the group stages of the tournament and was widely tipped to score the record-breaking goal in the Round of 16 against Ghana. Few predicted the speed with which he would score it, however. In the 5th minute, Brazilian midfielder/forward Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite ("Kaká") threaded a pass through to Ronaldo, leaving him one-on-one against the Ghanian keeper. Ronaldo sent the keeper the wrong way, slipped past him and prodded the ball into the empty net.

The goal also set another record - with his third of the tournament, Ronaldo joined German striker Jürgen Klinsmann as the only two people to score at least three goals in three separate World Cups.

Brazil went on to defeat Ghana 3-0, but lost to France 0-1 in the quarterfinals.

26 June 1992 - Is There A Danish Word For "Cinderella"?

On 26 June 1992, Denmark won the UEFA European Championship, defeating Germany 2-0 before a crowd of 37,800 at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The Danes were unlikely champions, having initially failed to qualify for the tournament. They finished second in their qualifying group, losing out to Yugoslavia by a single point. On 30 May 1992, however, just eleven days before the opening day of the tournament, the United Nations issued a trade embargo against Yugoslavia in response to that country's ongoing ethnic conflicts. Yugoslavia was thus disqualified from participating and Denmark was called in as a replacement.

As to be expected from a team that had not been planning to play in the tournament, the Danish side got off to a shaky start, drawing with England (0-0) and losing to hosts Sweden (1-0), before finally securing a win against France (2-1) in its last group stage match. The win placed Denmark second in its group, just one point of ahead of both France and England, and sent the Danes through to the knockout rounds.

In its first knockout match, Denmark faced the Netherlands, who were the defending Euro title holders. After trading goals to finish 2-2 at the end of extra time, Denmark won on penalties, 5-4, to advance to the Final against defending World Cup champions Germany.

In the Final, Danish midfielder John Jensen (pictured) opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Describing his goal after the match, Jensen told the press: "The first 20 minutes of football were the hardest most of us had ever faced. The Germans were all over the pitch and we couldn't get into our play. We were working tirelessly and suddenly I had the chance to have a shot at goal. I remember the manager had said to me before the game that if I have a chance to take a shot, then I should go for it."

The Danes kept Germany from scoring and, in the 78th minute, Jensen's midfield partner Kim Vilfort added a second goal as unnecessary insurance. The match ended at 2-0, giving the Danes their first major trophy.

25 June 1990 - Nine Months Later, Many Irish Babies Were Born

On 25 June 1990, the Republic of Ireland, competing in its first ever World Cup, defeated Romania 5-4 on penalties before a crowd of 31,818 at Genoa's Stadio Luigi Ferraris. The win sent Ireland through to the quarterfinals, which is the farthest the Republic has ever advanced in World Cup competition.

Ireland survived the group stage despite scoring only two goals and drawing all three matches with the other members of the group: 1-1 against England, 0-0 against Egypt, and 1-1 against the Netherlands. The Netherlands had similarly drawn all of its group matches and scored only two goals, so that Ireland and the Dutch side were tied for second place in the group, even on points (3), goal differential (0), goals for (2), and goals against (2). In order to determine the final placement, FIFA officials drew lots. Ireland won to claim second place. (The Netherlands still advanced, as their 3 points placed them among the top four third-place teams, all of whom qualified for the knockout rounds under the rules in place that year.)

The Irish seemed intent on drawing the match with Romania as well. While the Romanians played with flair and style, the Irish matched them with grit and determination. Neither side was able to score through 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of overtime, so the match went to penalty kicks. Even then, there was little to separate the sides, as the first four kickers from each team successfully converted.

That changed, however, when Romanian forward Daniel Timofte stepped up to take his side's fifth kick. Timofte, who had come on as a substitute in the 96th minute, sent his shot to the left, where Irish keeper Pat "Packie" Bonner (pictured) dove to meet it and swatted it away. Forward David O'Leary, who had come on in the 95th minute, then put his shot past Romanian keeper and captain, Silviu Lung, giving Ireland the victory.

After the match, the Irish team's English manager, Jack Charlton, told the press: ''The pubs will sell more booze tonight than they have in the last year. There's going to be a party this town has never seen the likes of before, a party Dublin has never seen the likes of before." Although Ireland lost in the quarterfinals to Italy, the shootout with Romania has become famous and was later immortalized in the film version of Roddy Doyle's The Van.

[Note: The clip below has some language that might be considered NSFW.]

24 June 2007 - It Must Have Been One Heck Of A Halftime Speech

On 24 June 2007, the United States successfully defended their 2006 CONCACAF Gold Cup title, defeating Mexico in the 2007 Final before a crowd of 60,000 at Chicago's Soldier Field.

The 2007 tournament was the ninth Gold Cup competition, which includes teams from the CONCACAF regions of North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. The North American teams dominated the group stage, with only two losses among them. Both the United States and Canada finished at the top of their groups, with Mexico finishing second to Honduras in its group on goal differential.

In the knockout stages, the United States advanced to the Final with victories over Panama (2-1) and Canada (2-1), while Mexico secured its spot with wins over Costa Rica (1-0, a.e.t.) and Guadeloupe (1-0).

Both sides played aggressively, with El Tri dictating a fast pace. The United States struggled defensively in the first half and paid the price in the 44th minute as Nery Castillo placed a perfect cross for Andrés Guardado, who slammed the ball into the roof of the net.

The US came out after the break with even more energy. They equalized in the 66th minute, as forward Brian Ching was pulled down in the box by Jonny Magallón and US captain Landon Donovan drilled the ensuing spot kick home. Mexican keeper Oswaldo Sanchez played well, but was eventually beaten in the 73rd minute by a thunderous game-winning volley from US midfielder Benny Feilhaber.

It was the United States' fourth Gold Cup trophy, which tied them with Mexico for total Gold Cup titles. As winners, the US earned a spot in the 2009 Confederations Cup in South Africa.