UEFA Euro 1968

The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968.

1968 UEFA European Football Championship
Campionato europeo di calcio
Italia 1968
Tournament details
Host countryItaly
Dates5–10 June
Teams4
Venue(s)3 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Italy (1st title)
Runners-up Yugoslavia
Third place England
Fourth place Soviet Union
Tournament statistics
Matches played5
Goals scored7 (1.4 per match)
Attendance260,916 (52,183 per match)
Top scorer(s)Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Džajić (2 goals)

It was in this year that the tournament changed its name from the "European Nations' Cup" to the "European Championship".[1] There were also some changes in the tournament's qualifying structure, with the two-legged home-and-away knock-out stage being replaced by a group phase.

Four countries played in the final tournament, which consisted of the semi-finals, a third place play-off, and the final. The host nation for the finals was selected from the four qualified nations.[2]

Qualification

The qualification competition was played in two stages: a group stage (taking place from 1966 until 1968) and the quarter-finals (played in 1968). There were eight qualifying groups of four teams each with the exception of group 4, which only had three. The matches were played in a home-and-away basis. Victories were worth 2 points, draws 1 point, and defeats 0 points. Only group winners could qualify for the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis. The winners of the quarter-finals would go through to the final tournament.

As of 2024, this is the last European Championship finals not to feature a Germany team (united or West) in it, and the only time they failed to qualify.

Quarterfinal Play Offs

Team 1 Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Bulgaria  3–4  Italy 3–2 0–2
Hungary  2–3  Soviet Union 2–0 0–3
England  3–1  Spain 1–0 2–1
France  2–6  Yugoslavia 1–1 1–5

Qualified teams

Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in tournament[upper-alpha 1]
 Italy (host)Quarter-final winner20 April 19680 (debut)
 YugoslaviaQuarter-final winner24 April 19681 (1960)
 EnglandQuarter-final winner8 May 19680 (debut)
 Soviet UnionQuarter-final winner11 May 19682 (1960, 1964)
  1. Bold indicates champion for that year.

Venues

Rome Naples Florence
Stadio Olimpico Stadio San Paolo Stadio Comunale
Capacity: 80,000 Capacity: 82,000 Capacity: 52,000

Squads

Match officials

Country Referee
Switzerland Switzerland Gottfried Dienst
Spain Spain José María Ortiz de Mendíbil
West Germany West Germany Kurt Tschenscher
Hungary Hungary István Zsolt

Final tournament

1968 UEFA European Football Championship finalists

In all matches but the final, extra time and a coin toss were used to decide the winner if necessary. If the final remained level after extra time, a replay would be used to determine the winner.

All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).

Bracket

 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
        
 
5 June – Naples
 
 
 Italy (coin toss)0
 
8 and 10 June – Rome
 
 Soviet Union0
 
 Italy (replay)12
 
5 June – Florence
 
 Yugoslavia10
 
 Yugoslavia1
 
 
 England0
 
Third place play-off
 
 
8 June – Rome
 
 
 England2
 
 
 Soviet Union0

Semi-finals

Italy 0–0 (a.e.t.)
Italy won on coin toss
 Soviet Union
Report

Yugoslavia 1–0 England
  • Džajić 86'
Report

Third place play-off

England 2–0 Soviet Union
Report
Attendance: 68,817

Final

Italy 1–1 (a.e.t.) Yugoslavia
Report

Italy 2–0 Yugoslavia
Report

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 7 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 1.4 goals per match.

2 goals

1 goal

Awards

UEFA Team of the Tournament[5]
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Italy Dino Zoff England Bobby Moore
Italy Giacinto Facchetti
Soviet Union Albert Shesternyov
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mirsad Fazlagić
Italy Angelo Domenghini
Italy Sandro Mazzola
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ivica Osim
England Geoff Hurst
Italy Gigi Riva
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Džajić

References

  1. Brewin, John; Williamson, Martin (29 April 2012). "Euro 2012: European Nations Cup 1968". ESPN FC. ESPN. Archived from the original on 8 October 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  2. Sheringham, Sam (12 May 2012). "Euro 1968: Alan Mullery's moment of madness". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  3. "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL". Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  4. "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL Replay". Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 29 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
  5. "1968 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
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