The
1980 edition was the last
UEFA European Championship to have a third place match. That was the only third place match in the tournament's history to be decided by a penalty shootout, where
Czechoslovakia defeated hosts
Italy 9–8 on penalties after a 1–1 draw. The
FIFA World Cup features a third place playoff, usually on the day before the final. It is often there to provide a spectacle as there is often a gap of a few days between the semi-finals and the final. The third place playoff is considered a lower-priority match to organizers, as it is frequently scheduled in one of the smaller stadia; the largest stadium (usually located in the host nation's capital city) is reserved for the final, while the semi-finals occupy the second and third-largest stadia. However, the
third place match in the 1994 World Cup did use the
Rose Bowl stadium, the same venue that would later host the tournament final, setting a record attendance of 91,500 for a third place playoff in FIFA World Cup history. The
UEFA Nations League also has a third place playoff; this game is played prior to the final on the same day. The third-place match in the
FIFA Women's World Cup has been somewhat more important to the organizers – the
1999,
2003, and
2007 matches were all held in the same stadium as the final. In fact, the 1999 and 2007 third-place matches were both held as the first half of a doubleheader that culminated in the final. The
2011 third-place match returned to the more traditional scheduling of the day before the final in a different stadium. Notably, the 1999 third-place match was the curtain-raiser to the most-attended women's sporting event in history, the
1999 final also held in the Rose Bowl. The third place match is generally a high-scoring affair, as no men's match has seen fewer than two goals scored since Poland's 1-0 win over Brazil in 1974, with four out of the last seven bronze-medal games, since 1994, seeing four goals or more. For tournament top scorers, the third place match's tendency of attacking football is a great opportunity to win the Golden Shoe, with players such as
Salvatore Schillaci (1990) and
Davor Šuker (1998) getting the goal they needed to take sole possession of the lead. The
FIFA Women's World Cup has had only eight editions to date, therefore creating less opportunity for a pattern to form. However, two of the third-place games in that competition have seen fewer than three goals. In 1995, the
USA defeated
China 2–0. In 1999, the third-place match between
Brazil and
Norway ended in a scoreless draw and penalty shootout (won by Brazil), as did the final between the USA and China (won by the USA). In 2015, the third place match between
Germany and
England was the first to go to extra time, and in the second period of extra time, England scored a single penalty and held on to the lead to upset Germany. How seriously the competing teams take this match is subject to debate. Certain teams, especially ones which had been expected to reach the final, will rest some of their starters to allow some of their reserve team players to participate in a World Cup game. For instance French team captain
Michel Platini did not play in either the 1982 or 1986 third place matches, while German goalkeeper
Hans-Jörg Butt received his only competitive international appearance in a third place playoff, and
Michel Vorm came on during injury time of the 3–0 third place play-off win against
Brazil in
Brasília thus ensuring that all 23 Dutch squad members played at the tournament. By contrast,
teams that are not expected to get this far usually take this match seriously, as third place can be a historical achievement. In Sweden "third place playoff" is called "bronze game" and in the 1994 World Cup, the Sweden national team, after the victory in the "bronze game", landed at Arlanda with a fighter escort and were then paraded through the streets of Stockholm to millions live on national TV. Another example of a high-profile third place match was in
1998, when the recently established
Croatian football team upset the Netherlands. If the host nation is involved in the third place match, the team generally uses the match to thank the support of their fans (such as the
South Korean football team in
2002, and the
German football team in
2006). while Portugal was defeated by France). For
Brazil, the dismal 3–0 loss to the Netherlands in the 2014 third place match, along with the
7–1 semi-final defeat to Germany, led to coach
Luiz Felipe Scolari being dismissed. For the Dutch, this was their first bronze medal in the FIFA World Cup. Germany currently holds the most third-place finishes in the men's World Cup, with four, their most recent in 2010. Sweden has the most third-place finishes in the Women's World Cup, with four. == Professional basketball ==