1960 European Nations' Cup

The 1960 European Nations' Cup was the first edition of the UEFA European Championship, held every four years and organised by UEFA. The first tournament was held in France. It was won by the Soviet Union, who beat Yugoslavia 2–1 in Paris after extra time.

1960 European Nations' Cup
Coupe d'Europe des nations de football
France 1960
(in French)
Tournament details
Host countryFrance
Dates6–10 July
Teams4
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Soviet Union (1st title)
Runners-up Yugoslavia
Third place Czechoslovakia
Fourth place France
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored17 (4.25 per match)
Attendance78,958 (19,740 per match)
Top scorer(s) François Heutte
Valentin Ivanov
Viktor Ponedelnik
Milan Galić
Dražan Jerković
(2 goals each)

The tournament was a knockout competition; just 17 teams entered with some notable absences, West Germany, Italy and England among them. The teams would play home-and-away matches until the semi-finals; the final four teams would then move on to the final tournament, whose host was selected after the teams became known.

In the quarter-finals, Spain, who were under Francoist rule, refused to travel to the Soviet Union for political reasons. Proposals to play the tie in a one-legged format at a neutral venue were rejected by the Soviets.[1] Spain were disqualified and, accordingly, three of the final four teams were from communist countries: USSR, Czechoslovakia, and SFR Yugoslavia, to go with hosts France.

In the semi-finals, the Soviets made easy work of the Czechoslovaks in Marseille, beating them 3–0. The other match saw a nine-goal thriller as Yugoslavia came on top 5–4 after coming back from a two-goal deficit twice. Czechoslovakia beat the demoralised French 2–0 for third place.

In the final, Yugoslavia scored first, but the Soviet Union, led by legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin, equalised in the 49th minute. After 90 minutes the score was 1–1, and Viktor Ponedelnik scored with seven minutes left in extra time to give the Soviets the inaugural European Championship.[2]

Qualification

Qualified teams
Team Qualified as Qualified on
 France (host)Quarter-finals winner27 March 1960
 YugoslaviaQuarter-finals winner22 May 1960
 Soviet UnionQuarter-finals winner[upper-alpha 1]28 May 1960
 CzechoslovakiaQuarter-finals winner29 May 1960
  1. The Soviet Union advanced to the main tournament as Spain were disqualified after they refused to travel to the Soviet Union for the first leg of their quarter-final.[3]

Venues
Paris Marseille
Parc des Princes Stade Vélodrome
Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 40,000

Match officials
Country Referee
England Arthur Ellis
Belgium Gaston Grandain
Italy Cesare Jonni

Final tournament
1960 European Nations' Cup 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, CET (UTC+1).

Bracket
 
Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
6 July – Marseille
 
 
 Czechoslovakia0
 
10 July – Paris
 
 Soviet Union3
 
 Soviet Union (a.e.t.)2
 
6 July – Paris
 
 Yugoslavia1
 
 France4
 
 
 Yugoslavia5
 
Third place play-off
 
 
9 July – Marseille
 
 
 Czechoslovakia2
 
 
 France0

Semi-finals
France 4–5 Yugoslavia
  • Vincent 12'
  • Heutte 43', 62'
  • Wisniewski 53'
 Report
  • Galić 11'
  • Žanetić 55'
  • Knez 75'
  • Jerković 78', 79'
Attendance: 26,370
Referee: Gaston Grandain (Belgium)
Czechoslovakia 0–3 Soviet Union
Report
  • Ivanov 34', 56'
  • Ponedelnik 66'
Attendance: 25,184
Referee: Cesare Jonni (Italy)

Third place play-off
Czechoslovakia 2–0 France
  • Bubník 58'
  • Pavlovič 88'
 Report
Attendance: 9,438
Referee: Cesare Jonni (Italy)

Final
Soviet Union 2–1 (a.e.t.) Yugoslavia
  • Metreveli 49'
  • Ponedelnik 113'
 Report
  • Galić 43'
Attendance: 17,966
Referee: Arthur Ellis (England)

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 17 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 4.25 goals per match.

2 goals

  • François Heutte
  • Valentin Ivanov
  • Viktor Ponedelnik
  • Milan Galić
  • Dražan Jerković

1 goal

  • Vlastimil Bubník
  • Ladislav Pavlovič
  • Jean Vincent
  • Maryan Wisniewski
  • Slava Metreveli
  • Tomislav Knez
  • Ante Žanetić

Awards
UEFA Team of the Tournament[4]
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Lev Yashin Ladislav Novák
Vladimir Durković		 Josef Masopust
Valentin Ivanov
Igor Netto		 Slava Metreveli
Viktor Ponedelnik
Milan Galić
Bora Kostić
Dragoslav Šekularac

References
  1. Муртазин, Салават (10 July 2020). "Первая и последняя победа сборной СССР на Евро. Как это было". Championat.com (in Russian). Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  2. Rostance, Tom (21 May 2012). "BBC Sport - Euro 1960: Lev Yashin leads Soviets to glory in France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  3. "European Cup Committee – Meeting of May 28th, 1960, Francfort". Bulletin officiel de l'UEFA. No. 15. Union of European Football Associations. November 1960. In connection with the withdrawal of Spain (v. USSR) the Committee decided to apply Article 7 of the Regulations, namely, to qualify Russia for the Final Tournament.
  4. "1960 team of the tournament". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 January 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
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