UEFA Euro 1968

1968 UEFA European Football Championship
Italia '68

UEFA Euro 1968 official logo
Tournament details
Host country Italy
Dates 5 June – 10 June
Teams 4
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 played 5
Goals scored 7 (1.4 per match)
Attendance 260,916 (52,183 per match)
Top scorer(s) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Džajić (2 goals)

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

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.

Only four countries played in the final tournament. There were semi-finals, the final and a third place match.

The hosts were only announced after the qualifying round, which meant that they had to qualify along with all the others for the final stage.[2]

Venues

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

Qualification

1968 UEFA European Football Championship finalists.

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.

The following teams participated in the final tournament (see also: UEFA Euro 1968 squads):

Final tournament

The Italian team commemorated on a 1968 Ajman stamp

All time are CET/UTC+1

Semi-finals Final
5 June – Naples (Stadio San Paolo)
  Italy (coin toss)  0  
  Soviet Union  0  
 
8 June – Rome (Stadio Olimpico) (replayed 10 June)
      Italy  2 (1)
    Yugoslavia  0 (1)
Third place
5 June – Florence (Stadio Comunale) 8 June – Rome (Stadio Olimpico)
  Yugoslavia  1   England  2
  England  0     Soviet Union  0

Semi-finals

5 June 1968
18:00
Italy  0–0 (a.e.t.)[3]  Soviet Union
Report

5 June 1968
21:15
Yugoslavia  1–0  England
Džajić  87' Report
Stadio Comunale, Florence
Attendance: 21,834
Referee: José María Ortiz de Mendíbil (Spain)

Third place play-off

8 June 1968
16:45
England  2–0  Soviet Union
Charlton  39'
Hurst  63' 		Report
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Attendance: 68,817
Referee: István Zsolt (Hungary)

Final

Main article: UEFA Euro 1968 Final

8 June 1968
21:15
Italy  1–1 (a.e.t.)  Yugoslavia
Domenghini  80' Report Džajić  32'

Replay

10 June 1968
21:15
Italy  2–0  Yugoslavia
Riva  12'
Anastasi  31' 		Report
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Attendance: 32,866[5]
Referee: José María Ortiz de Mendíbil (Spain)

Statistics

Top scorers

With two goals, Dragan Džajić is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 7 goals were scored by 6 different players in 5 matches, for an average of 1.4 goals per game. None of the goals is credited as own goal.

2 goals
1 goal

Fastest goal

12 minutes: Luigi Riva (Italy vs Yugoslavia, Replay)

Average goals

1.4 goals per game

Awards

UEFA Team of the Tournament[6]
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
Italy Dino Zoff Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Mirsad Fazlagić Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ivan Osim England Geoff Hurst
Italy Giacinto Facchetti Italy Sandro Mazzola Italy Luigi Riva
Soviet Union Albert Shesternyov Italy Angelo Domenghini Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Dragan Džajić
England Bobby Moore

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to UEFA Euro 1968.
  1. ↑ John Brewin and Martin Williamson April 29, 2012 (2012-04-29). "Euro 2012: European Nations Cup 1968 | Live football and soccer news". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  2. ↑ Sheringham, Sam (2012-05-12). "BBC Sport - Euro 1968: Alan Mullery's moment of madness". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
  3. ↑ Match decided by toss of coin: Italy captain Giacinto Facchetti called correctly.
  4. ↑ "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 2000-08-17. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  5. ↑ "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL Replay". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 2000-08-29. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
  6. ↑ "1968 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2012.