1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying

This article describes the qualifying procedure for the 1960 European Nations' Cup, the inaugural edition of the European Nations' Cup tournament, now known as the UEFA European Championship.

Format

The qualification was a knockout tournament where the teams would play on a home-and-away basis. It consisted of a preliminary round, a round of 16, and a quarter-final round. The four quarter-final winners would qualify for the tournament proper; one of those four countries would then be chosen to host it.

17 teams entered the competition; notable absences included West Germany, Italy, England and the Netherlands. Two of the entrants, Czechoslovakia and the Republic of Ireland, were selected to play the preliminary round. The winner of that fixture would join the rest 15 teams in the first round (round of 16).

In fact, a few first round matches took place before the preliminary round games. The first ever European Nations' Cup qualifying match was played on 28 September 1958 between the Soviet Union and Hungary. The first ever goal was scored by Anatoli Ilyin 4 minutes into that game. On 3 December 1958, Greece became the first team to ever be eliminated from the European Nations' Cup.

Qualified nations

  Qualified
  Did not qualify
  Did not enter
  Not a UEFA member
Country Method of qualificationFinals appearanceDate qualification was secured Previous appearances in tournament
 France Quarter-finals winner 1st 27 March 1960 0 (debut)
 Yugoslavia Quarter-finals winner 1st 22 May 1960 0 (debut)
 Czechoslovakia Quarter-finals winner 1st 29 May 1960 0 (debut)
 Soviet Union Bye1 1st 0 (debut)
1Soviet Union qualified as a result, after Spain refused to travel to the Soviet Union.

Preliminary round

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Republic of Ireland  2–4  Czechoslovakia 2–0 0–4

First leg

5 April 1959
15:30
Republic of Ireland  2–0  Czechoslovakia
Tuohy  22'
Cantwell  42' (pen.) 		Report
Dalymount Park, Dublin
Attendance: 37,500
Referee: Lucien Van Nuffel (Belgium)

Second leg

10 May 1959
16:00
Czechoslovakia  4–0  Republic of Ireland
Stacho  3' (pen.)
Buberník  57'
Pavlovič  67'
Dolinský  75' 		Report
Tehelné pole, Bratislava
Attendance: 41,691
Referee: Joseph Barbéran (France)

Czechoslovakia won 4–2 on aggregate.

First round

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
Soviet Union  4–1  Hungary 3–1 1–0
France  8–2  Greece 7–1 1–1
Romania  3–2  Turkey 3–0 0–2
Norway  2–6  Austria 0–1 2–5
Yugoslavia  3–1  Bulgaria 2–0 1–1
East Germany  2–5  Portugal 0–2 2–3
Poland  2–7  Spain 2–4 0–3
Denmark  3–7  Czechoslovakia 2–2 1–5

First leg

28 September 1958
19:00
Soviet Union  3–1  Hungary
Ilyin  4'
Metreveli  20'
Ivanov  32' 		Report Göröcs  84'
Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow
Attendance: 100,572
Referee: Alfred Grill (Austria)

1 October 1958
20:30
France  7–1  Greece
Kopa  23'
Fontaine  25', 85'
Cisowski  29', 68'
Vincent  61', 87' 		Report Yfantis  48'
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 37,590
Referee: Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)

2 November 1958
Romania  3–0  Turkey
Oaidă  62'
Constantin  77'
Dinulescu  81' 		Report
Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest
Attendance: 67,200
Referee: Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)

20 May 1959
19:00
Norway  0–1  Austria
Report Hof  32'
Ullevål, Oslo
Attendance: 27,566
Referee: Werner Bergmann (East Germany)

31 May 1959
Yugoslavia  2–0  Bulgaria
Galić  1'
Tasić  87' 		Report
Stadion JNA, Belgrade
Attendance: 23,418
Referee: Mihai Popa (Romania)

21 June 1959
East Germany  0–2  Portugal
Report Matateu  12'
Coluna  67'
Walter-Ulbricht-Stadion, Berlin
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: Alois Obtulovic (Czechoslovakia)

28 June 1959
Poland  2–4  Spain
Pol  34'
Brychczy  62' 		Report Suárez  40', 52'
Di Stéfano  41', 56'

23 September 1959
19:00
Denmark  2–2  Czechoslovakia
Pedersen  17'
Hansen  19' 		Report Kačáni  29'
Dolinský  42'
Idrætsparken, Copenhagen
Attendance: 34,200
Referee: Johan Bronkhorst (Netherlands)

Second leg

3 December 1958
15:00
Greece  1–1  France
Marche  85' (o.g.) Report Bruey  71'
Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens
Attendance: 18,833
Referee: Vincenzo Orlandini (Italy)

France won 8–2 on aggregate.

26 April 1959
Turkey  2–0  Romania
Küçükandonyadis  13', 54' (pen.) Report
Beşiktaş İnönü Stadı, Istanbul
Attendance: 23,567
Referee: Borge Nedelkovski (Yugoslavia)

Romania won 3–2 on aggregate.

28 June 1959
Portugal  3–2  East Germany
Coluna  45', 62'
Cavém  68' 		Report Vogt  47'
Kohle  72'
Estádio das Antas, Porto
Attendance: 19,124
Referee: Juan Garay Gardeazábal (Spain)

Portugal won 5–2 on aggregate.

23 September 1959
19:00
Austria  5–2  Norway
Hof  2', 25' (pen.)
Nemec  21', 73'
Skerlan  60' 		Report Ødegaard  19', 35'
Praterstadion, Vienna
Attendance: 34,989
Referee: Dimosthemis Stathatos (Greece)

Austria won 6–2 on aggregate.

27 September 1959
15:30
Hungary  0–1  Soviet Union
Report Voinov 58'
Népstadion, Budapest
Attendance: 78,481
Referee: Jozef Kowal (Poland)

Soviet Union won 4–1 on aggregate.

14 October 1959
Spain  3–0  Poland
Di Stéfano  30'
Gensana  69'
Gento  85' 		Report
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Attendance: 62,070
Referee: Karoly Balla (Hungary)

Spain won 7–2 on aggregate.

18 October 1959
14:15
Czechoslovakia  5–1  Denmark
Buberník  39', 56'
Scherer  47', 86'
Dolinský  63' 		Report Kramer  33'
Stadion Za Lužánkami, Brno
Attendance: 31,217
Referee: Helmut Köhler (West Germany)

Czechoslovakia won 7–3 on aggregate.

25 October 1959
Bulgaria  1–1  Yugoslavia
Diev  55' Report Mujić  57'
Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia
Attendance: 27,560
Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)

Yugoslavia won 3–1 on aggregate.

Quarter-finals

Team 1 Agg. Team 2 1st leg 2nd leg
France  9–4  Austria 5–2 4–2
Portugal  3–6  Yugoslavia 2–1 1–5
Romania  0–5  Czechoslovakia 0–2 0–3
Soviet Union  w.o.  Spain - -

Spain refused to travel to the Soviet Union for their quarter-final, so the USSR were awarded a walkover victory.

First leg

13 December 1959
14:30
France  5–2  Austria
Fontaine  6', 18', 70'
Vincent  38', 82' 		Report Horak  40'
Pichler  65'
Stade Olympique de Colombes, Colombes
Attendance: 43,775
Referee: Manuel Martín Asensi (Spain)

8 May 1960
Portugal  2–1  Yugoslavia
Santana  30'
Matateu  70' 		Report Kostić  81'
Estádio Nacional, Lisbon
Attendance: 39,978
Referee: Joseph Barbéran (France)

22 May 1960
15:00
Romania  0–2  Czechoslovakia
Report Masopust  8'
Bubník  45'
Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest
Attendance: 61,306
Referee: Andor Dorogi (Hungary)

Second leg

27 March 1960
15:00
Austria  2–4  France
Nemec  26'
Probst  64' 		Report Marcel  46'
Rahis  59'
Heutte  77'
Kopa  83' (pen.)
Praterstadion, Vienna
Attendance: 39,229
Referee: Leo Helge (Denmark)

France won 9–4 on aggregate.

22 May 1960
Yugoslavia  5–1  Portugal
Šekularac  8'
Čebinac  45'
Kostić  50', 88'
Galić  79' 		Report Cavém  29'
Stadion JNA, Belgrade
Attendance: 43,000
Referee: Alfred Stoll (Austria)

Yugoslavia won 6–3 on aggregate.

29 May 1960
16:30
Czechoslovakia  3–0  Romania
Buberník  1', 15'
Bubník  18' 		Report
Tehelné pole, Bratislava
Attendance: 31,057
Referee: Leif Gulliksen (Norway)

Czechoslovakia won 5–0 on aggregate.

Goalscorers

5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
1 own goal

External links