Based on a representative longitudinal study surrounding the 2016 European Football Championship, the book explores the connection between football and national pride. It demonstrates how identification with the national football team is associated with a sense of belonging to the nation-state and with expressive patriotic behaviors. The discussion includes which demographic groups exhibit a stronger football-related patriotism, as well as the conditions and mechanisms that provoke or amplify this sentiment. It empirically examines whether football-related national pride is harmless or dangerous, exclusionary or inclusive, fleeting or enduring. Through these themes and questions, the book illustrates how elite sports can profoundly influence society, using football as a concrete and vivid example.