UEFA Euro 1972

1972 UEFA European Football Championship

Europees kampioenschap voetbal 1972 (Dutch) Championnat du Football Européen 1972 (French) UEFA Fußball-Europameisterschaft 1972 (German)
UEFA Euro 1972 official logo
Tournament details
Host country	Belgium
Dates	14 June – 18 June
Teams	4
Venue(s)	4 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	West Germany (1st title)
Runners-up	Soviet Union
Third place	Belgium
Fourth place	Hungary
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	10 (2.5 per match)
Attendance	121,880 (30,470 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Gerd Müller (4 goals)

The 1972 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Belgium. This was the fourth European Football Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 14 and 18 June 1972.

At the time, only four countries could play the final tournament which meant that there were only the semi-finals, the final and the third place match.

The hosts were only announced after the qualifying round, which meant all teams had to participate in the qualification process for the final stage.^[1] Belgium was chosen among three candidates; the other bids came from England and Italy,^[2] whose teams did not reach the semi-finals.

West Germany won the tournament, beating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final, with goals coming from Gerd Müller (twice) and Herbert Wimmer at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.^[3]

Venues

Brussels Liège Antwerp
	Brussels
	Heysel Stadium	Stade Émile Versé
	Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 42,800
	Liège	Antwerp
	Sclessin Stadium	Bosuil Stadium
	Capacity: 43,000	Capacity: 60,000

Qualifying round

The qualifying round was played throughout 1970 and 1971 (group phase), and 1972 (quarter-finals). There were eight qualifying groups of four teams each. 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.

Finalists and their results

The following teams participated in the final tournament (see also UEFA Euro 1972 squads):

•  Belgium (first appearance)
•  Hungary
•  Soviet Union
•  West Germany (first appearance)

Final tournament

All time are CET/UTC+1

	Semi-finals				Final
	14 June – Antwerp (Bosuil Stadium)
	Belgium	1
	West Germany	2
					18 June – Brussels (Heysel Stadium)
					West Germany	3
					Soviet Union	0
					Third place
	14 June – Brussels (Stade Émile Versé)			17 June – Liège (Sclessin Stadium)
	Hungary	0		Hungary	1
	Soviet Union	1			Belgium	2

Semi-finals

Belgium  v  West Germany

14 June 1972 20:00

Belgium	1 – 2	West Germany
Polleunis  83'	Report	Müller  24', 71'

Bosuilstadion, Antwerp Attendance: 55,669 Referee: William J. Mullan (Scotland)

---

Hungary  v  Soviet Union

14 June 1972 20:00

Hungary	0 – 1	Soviet Union
	Report	Konkov  53'

Stade Émile Versé, Brussels Attendance: 16,590 Referee: Rudi Glöckner (East Germany)

Third place play-off

Hungary  v  Belgium

17 June 1972 20:00

Hungary	1 – 2	Belgium
Kű  53' (pen.)	Report	Lambert  24' Van Himst  28'

Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liege Attendance: 6,184 Referee: Johan Einar Boström (Sweden)

Final

West Germany  v  Soviet Union

18 June 1972 16:00

West Germany	3 – 0	Soviet Union
Müller  27', 58' Wimmer  52'	Report

Heysel Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 43,437 Referee: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)

Statistics

• Fastest goal: 24 minutes
  • Raoul Lambert (Belgium vs Hungary)
  • Gerd Müller (West Germany vs Belgium)

Goalscorers

With four goals, Gerd Müller is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 10 goals were scored by 7 different players in 4 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per game. None of the goals is credited as own goal.

4 goals

• Gerd Müller

1 goal

• Herbert Wimmer
• Anatoli Konkov
• Raoul Lambert
• Odilon Polleunis
• Paul Van Himst
• Lajos Kű

Awards

UEFA Team of the Tournament^[4]

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Evgeny Rudakov	Revaz Dzodzuashvili	Uli Hoeneß	Raoul Lambert
	Franz Beckenbauer	Gunter Netzer	Jupp Heynckes
	Murtaz Khurtsilava	Herbert Wimmer	Gerd Müller
	Paul Breitner

References

1. Henson, Mike (12 May 2012). "Euro 1972: West Germany sweep the continent on finals debut". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 17 June 2012.
2. "Sportflitsen" (in Dutch). De Tijd. 14 March 1972. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
3. "Müller the menace in German masterclass". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 October 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
4. "1972 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 23 January 2015.

External links

• EURO 1972 Official History