1960 European Football Championship

The 1960 European Football Championship, then called the European Nations Cup, was the first European Football Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament was held in France. It was won by the Soviet Union 2-1 who beat Yugoslavia in Paris after extra time.

The tournament was a knockout competition; just 17 teams entered with some notable absences (West Germany and Italy among them). The teams would play home-and-away matches until the semi-finals; the final four teams would move on to the final tournament, whose host was selected after the teams became known.

Spain refused to travel to the Soviet Union and withdrew from the tournament, so the final four had three Eastern Bloc countries: USSR, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, to go with hosts France. In the semi-finals, the Soviets made easy work of the Czechoslovaks in Marseille, beating them 3-0. The other match saw a nine-goal thriller as Yugoslavia came on top 5-4, coming back from a two-goal lead twice. Czechoslovakia beat the demoralized French 2-0 for third place.

In the final, Yugoslavia scored first, but the Soviet Union, led by legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin, equalized in the 49th minute. After 90 minutes the score was 1-1, and Viktor Ponedelnik scored with seven minutes left in extra time to give the Soviets the inaugurual European Championship.

Qualifying rounds

Pre-qualifying

Republic of IrelandCzechoslovakia

2 - 0
0 - 4

Round of 16

USSRHungary

3 - 1
1 - 0

FranceGreece

7 - 1
1 - 1

PolandSpain

2 - 4
0 - 3

NorwayAustria

0 - 1
2 - 5

DenmarkCzechoslovakia

2 - 2
1 - 5

YugoslaviaBulgaria

2 - 0
1 - 1

RomaniaTurkey

3 - 0
0 - 2

East GermanyPortugal

0 - 2
2 - 3

Quarter-finals

USSRSpain

walk
over

FranceAustria

5 - 2
4 - 2

RomaniaCzechoslovakia

0 - 2
0 - 3

PortugalYugoslavia

2 - 1
1 - 5

Final tournament

Semi-finals

July 6, 1960

USSRCzechoslovakia

3 - 0
Venue: Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 25,184

YugoslaviaFrance

5 - 4
Venue: Parc Des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 26,370

Third place match

July 9, 1960

CzechoslovakiaFrance

2 - 0
Venue: Vélodrome, Marseille
Attendance: 9,438

Final

July 10, 1960

USSRYugoslavia

2 - 1 (AET)

Venue: Parc Des Princes, Paris Attendance: 17,966
USSR
First title

Tournament Statistics

Top Goalscorers

2 Goals: François Heutte (France), Valentin Ivanov (USSR), Viktor Ponedelnik (USSR), Milan Galić (Yugoslavia), Dražen Jerković (Yugoslavia)

Fastest Goal

11 Minutes: Milan Galić (Yugoslavia vs France)

Average Goals

4.25 Per Game

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