1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying
| Qualification for championships (UEFA) | 
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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

| Country | Method of qualification | Finals appearance | Date 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 | 29 May 1960 | 0 (debut) | 
- 1Soviet Union qualified 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 | 
Matches
| 5 April 1959 15:30 First leg | 
| Republic of Ireland  | 2–0 |  Czechoslovakia | 
|---|---|---|
| Tuohy  22' Cantwell  42' (pen.) | Report | 
| 10 May 1959 16:00 Second leg | 
| Czechoslovakia  | 4–0 |  Republic of Ireland | 
|---|---|---|
| Stacho  3' (pen.) Buberník  57' Pavlovič  67' Dolinský  75' | Report | 
Czechoslovakia won 4–2 on aggregate.
First round
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soviet Union .svg.png)  | 4–1 |  Hungary | 3–1 | 1–0 | 
| France   | 8–2 | .svg.png) Greece | 7–1 | 1–1 | 
| Romania .svg.png)  | 3–2 |  Turkey | 3–0 | 0–2 | 
| Norway   | 2–6 |  Austria | 0–1 | 2–5 | 
| Yugoslavia   | 3–1 | .svg.png) Bulgaria | 2–0 | 1–1 | 
| East Germany   | 2–5 |  Portugal | 0–2 | 2–3 | 
| Poland   | 2–7 | .svg.png) Spain | 2–4 | 0–3 | 
| Denmark   | 3–7 |  Czechoslovakia | 2–2 | 1–5 | 
Matches
| 28 September 1958 19:00 First leg | 
| Soviet Union .svg.png) | 3–1 |  Hungary | 
|---|---|---|
| Ilyin  4' Metreveli  20' Ivanov  32' | Report | Göröcs  84' | 
Soviet Union won 4–1 on aggregate.
| 1 October 1958 20:30 First leg | 
| France  | 7–1 | .svg.png) Greece | 
|---|---|---|
| Kopa  23' Fontaine  25', 85' Cisowski  29', 68' Vincent  61', 87' | Report | Yfantis  48' | 
France won 8–2 on aggregate.
Romania won 3–2 on aggregate.
| 23 September 1959 19:00 Second leg | 
| Austria  | 5–2 |  Norway | 
|---|---|---|
| Hof  2', 25' (pen.) Nemec  21', 73' Skerlan  60' | Report | Ødegaard  19', 35' | 
Austria won 6–2 on aggregate.
Yugoslavia won 3–1 on aggregate.
Portugal won 5–2 on aggregate.
| 28 June 1959 First leg | 
| Poland  | 2–4 | .svg.png) Spain | 
|---|---|---|
| Pohl  34' Brychczy  62' | Report | Suárez  40', 52' Di Stéfano  41', 56' | 
Spain won 7–2 on aggregate.
| 23 September 1959 19:00 First leg | 
| Denmark  | 2–2 |  Czechoslovakia | 
|---|---|---|
| Pedersen  17' Hansen  19' | Report | Kačáni  29' Dolinský  42' | 
| 18 October 1959 14:15 Second leg | 
| Czechoslovakia  | 5–1 |  Denmark | 
|---|---|---|
| Buberník  39', 56' Scherer  47', 86' Dolinský  63' | Report | Kramer  33' | 
Czechoslovakia won 7–3 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 .svg.png)  | 0–5 |  Czechoslovakia | 0–2 | 0–3 | 
| Soviet Union .svg.png)  | w.o. | .svg.png) Spain | – | – | 
Spain refused to travel to the Soviet Union for their quarter-final, so the USSR were awarded a walkover victory.
Matches
| 13 December 1959 14:30 First leg | 
| France  | 5–2 |  Austria | 
|---|---|---|
| Fontaine  6', 18', 70' Vincent  38', 82' | Report | Horak  40' Pichler  65' | 
| 27 March 1960 15:00 Second leg | 
| Austria  | 2–4 |  France | 
|---|---|---|
| Nemec  26' Probst  64' | Report | Marcel  46' Rahis  59' Heutte  77' Kopa  83' (pen.) | 
France won 9–4 on aggregate.
| 22 May 1960 Second leg | 
| Yugoslavia  | 5–1 |  Portugal | 
|---|---|---|
| Šekularac  8' Čebinac  45' Kostić  50', 88' Galić  79' | Report | Cavém  29' | 
Yugoslavia won 6–3 on aggregate.
Czechoslovakia won 5–0 on aggregate.
Spain withdrew. Soviet Union had a walkover.
Goalscorers
- 5 goals
- 4 goals
- 3 goals
- 2 goals
- 1 goal
-   Walter Horak Walter Horak
-   Rudolf Pichler Rudolf Pichler
-   Erich Probst Erich Probst
-   Karl Skerlan Karl Skerlan
-  .svg.png) Todor Diev Todor Diev
-   Ladislav Kačáni Ladislav Kačáni
-   Josef Masopust Josef Masopust
-   Ladislav Pavlovič Ladislav Pavlovič
-   Imrich Stacho Imrich Stacho
-   Bent Hansen Bent Hansen
-   John Kramer John Kramer
-   Poul Pedersen Poul Pedersen
-   Horst Kohle Horst Kohle
-   Gerhard Vogt Gerhard Vogt
-   Stéphane Bruey Stéphane Bruey
-   François Heutte François Heutte
-   Jean-Jacques Marcel Jean-Jacques Marcel
-   Bernard Rahis Bernard Rahis
-  .svg.png) Elias Yfantis Elias Yfantis
-   János Göröcs János Göröcs
-   Lucjan Brychczy Lucjan Brychczy
-   Ernest Pohl Ernest Pohl
-   Joaquim Santana Joaquim Santana
-   Noel Cantwell Noel Cantwell
-   Liam Tuohy Liam Tuohy
-  .svg.png) Gheorghe Constantin Gheorghe Constantin
-  .svg.png) Constantin Dinulescu Constantin Dinulescu
-  .svg.png) Nicolae Oaidă Nicolae Oaidă
-  .svg.png) Anatoli Ilyin Anatoli Ilyin
-  .svg.png) Valentin Ivanov Valentin Ivanov
-  .svg.png) Slava Metreveli Slava Metreveli
-  .svg.png) Yuriy Voynov Yuriy Voynov
-  .svg.png) Enric Gensana Enric Gensana
-  .svg.png) Francisco Gento Francisco Gento
-   Zvezdan Čebinac Zvezdan Čebinac
-   Muhamed Mujić Muhamed Mujić
-   Dragoslav Šekularac Dragoslav Šekularac
-   Lazar Tasić Lazar Tasić
- 1 own goal
-   Roger Marche (playing against Greece) Roger Marche (playing against Greece)
External links
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