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.
Campionato europeo di calcio Italia 1968 | |
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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 | 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) |
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]
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.
Team 1 | Agg. | 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 |
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) |
Rome | Naples | Florence | |
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Stadio Olimpico | Stadio San Paolo | Stadio Comunale | |
Capacity: 80,000 | Capacity: 82,000 | Capacity: 52,000 | |
Country | Referee |
---|---|
Switzerland | Gottfried Dienst |
Spain | José María Ortiz de Mendíbil |
West Germany | Kurt Tschenscher |
Hungary | István Zsolt |
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).
Semi-finals | Final | |||||||
5 June – Naples | ||||||||
Italy (coin toss) | 0 | |||||||
8 and 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 |
Italy | 0–0 (a.e.t.) Italy won on coin toss | Soviet Union |
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Report |
Yugoslavia | 1–0 | England |
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Report |
England | 2–0 | Soviet Union |
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Report |
Italy | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Yugoslavia |
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Report |
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Italy | 2–0 | Yugoslavia |
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Report |
There were 7 goals scored in 5 matches, for an average of 1.4 goals per match.
2 goals
1 goal
Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
---|---|---|---|
Dino Zoff | Bobby Moore Giacinto Facchetti Albert Shesternyov Mirsad Fazlagić |
Angelo Domenghini Sandro Mazzola Ivica Osim |
Geoff Hurst Gigi Riva Dragan Džajić |