During this period, Portugal was not part of a group of teams that were candidates to win titles, but from 2000 until this present day, the team evolved, being present in all the final stages of major tournaments. This was in great part due to the production of several world-class players by Portugal, such as Luís Figo, Rui Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, and Cristiano Ronaldo who is considered one of the greatest players ever to play the game. This golden generation helped Portugal reach the semi-finals of Euro 2000, losing 2–1 after extra time to eventual winners France, securing second place at Euro 2004 Final after losing to Greece on home soil, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup, finishing in fourth place after losing to 3–1 to hosts Germany, thus being the best result of the country in the World Cup since 1966. Despite losing many players of the golden generation, new players such as Fábio Coentrão, João Moutinho, Nani and Pepe helped the Portuguese reach the semi-finals of Euro 2012, losing to Spain in penalties, with Cristiano Ronaldo finishing as joint top scorer of the tournament with three goals.