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)	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):

•  England (first appearance)
•  Italy (first appearance)
•  Soviet Union
•  Yugoslavia

Final tournament

The Italian team commemorated on a 1968 Ajman stamp

All time are CEST/UTC+2

	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

Italy  v  Soviet Union

5 June 1968 18:00

Italy	0–0 (a.e.t.)	Soviet Union
	Report

Stadio San Paolo, Naples Attendance: 68,582 Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)

Match decided by toss of coin: Italy captain Giacinto Facchetti called correctly.

---

Yugoslavia  v  England

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

England  v  Soviet Union

8 June 1968 18:45

England	2–0	Soviet Union
Charlton  39' Hurst  63'	Report

Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 68,817 Referee: István Zsolt (Hungary)

Final

Italy  v  Yugoslavia

8 June 1968 21:15

Italy	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Yugoslavia
Domenghini  80'	Report	Džajić  32'

Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 68,817[3] Referee: Gottfried Dienst (Switzerland)

As the match ended in a draw, a replay was played to determine the winner.

Italy  v  Yugoslavia

10 June 1968 21:15 Replay

Italy	2–0	Yugoslavia
Riva  12' Anastasi  31'	Report

Stadio Olimpico, Rome Attendance: 32,866[4] 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

• Dragan Džajić

1 goal

• Luigi Riva
• Angelo Domenghini
• Pietro Anastasi
• Geoff Hurst
• Bobby Charlton

Fastest goal

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

Average goals

1.4 goals per game

Awards

UEFA Team of the Tournament^[5]

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Dino Zoff	Mirsad Fazlagić	Ivan Osim	Geoff Hurst
	Giacinto Facchetti	Sandro Mazzola	Luigi Riva
	Albert Shesternyov	Angelo Domenghini	Dragan Džajić
	Bobby Moore

References

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. "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 2000-08-17. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
4. "European Football Championship 1968 FINAL Replay". UEFA euro2000.org. Archived from the original on 2000-08-29. Retrieved 2012-07-05.
5. "1968 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.