| Italia '68 | |
|---|---|
UEFA Euro 1968 official logo  | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Italy |
| Dates | 5–10 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 3 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Italy (1st title) |
| Runners-up | .svg.png){kind=small} 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) | 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, with the tournament consisting of the semi-finals, a third place play-off, and the final.
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]
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.
Qualified teams
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[A] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy (host) | Quarter-final winner | 20 April 1968 | 0 (debut) |
| Yugoslavia | Quarter-final winner | 24 April 1968 | 1 (1960) |
| England | Quarter-final winner | 8 May 1968 | 0 (debut) |
| Soviet Union | Quarter-final winner | 11 May 1968 | 2 (1960, 1964) |
- ^ 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 | Gottfried Dienst |
.svg.png){kind=small} Spain | José María Ortiz de Mendíbil |
 West Germany | Kurt Tschenscher |
 Hungary | István Zsolt |
Final tournament
)
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-finals | Final | |||||
| 5 June – Naples | ||||||
| Italy (coin toss) | 0 | |||||
| 8 June / 10 June – Rome | ||||||
| Soviet Union | 0 | |||||
| Italy (replay) | 1 / 2 | |||||
| 5 June – Florence | ||||||
| Yugoslavia | 1 / 0 | |||||
| Yugoslavia | 1 | |||||
| England | 0 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 8 June – Rome | ||||||
| England | 2 | |||||
| Soviet Union | 0 | |||||
Semi-finals
| Yugoslavia | 1–0 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
86Third place play-off
| England | 2–0 | Soviet Union |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
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
.svg.png)
Dragan Džajić
1 goal
Awards
- UEFA Team of the Tournament[5]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dino Zoff | Bobby Moore Giacinto Facchetti Albert Shesternyov Mirsad Fazlagić | Angelo Domenghini Sandro Mazzola Ivica Osim | Geoff Hurst Luigi Riva Dragan Džajić |
References
- ^ 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.
- ^ Sheringham, Sam (12 May 2012). "BBC Sport - Euro 1968: Alan Mullery's moment of madness". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ^ "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ^ "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL Replay". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 29 August 2000. Retrieved 5 July 2012.
- ^ "1968 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. 1 April 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
External links
- UEFA Euro 1968 at UEFA.com