1964 European Nations' Cup

The 1964 European Nations' Cup was the second edition of the UEFA European Championship. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over the defending champions, the Soviet Union.[1]

1964 European Nations' Cup
Eurocopa España 1964
Tournament details
Host countrySpain
Dates17–21 June
Teams4
Venue(s)2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions Spain (1st title)
Runners-up Soviet Union
Third place Hungary
Fourth place Denmark
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored13 (3.25 per match)
Attendance156,253 (39,063 per match)
Top scorer(s)Hungary Ferenc Bene
Hungary Dezső Novák
Spain Chus Pereda
(2 goals each)
1960
1968

The tournament was a knockout competition; 29 teams entered (Greece withdrew after the draw after refusing to play Albania). The Soviet Union, Austria and Luxembourg received byes to the round of 16. The teams played 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.

Luxembourg proved to be the giant-killers of the qualifying rounds; they beat the Netherlands 3–2 on aggregate (1–1 and 2–1), and then drew with Denmark 3–3 and 2–2, before losing the replay 1–0. Denmark thus became the most surprising of the qualifiers for the final tournament, joining the Soviet Union, Spain, and Hungary. In the semi-finals, the Soviet Union defeated the Danes 3–0 in Barcelona, and Spain beat Hungary 2–1 in extra time in Madrid, the winning goal being scored by Amancio. This set up a showdown between Spain and the Soviet Union in the final, only four years after Spain had been disqualified for refusing to travel to Moscow to play the Soviet Union. On this occasion – and with the championship of Europe on the line – General Franco let his team play the Soviets. In front of more than 79,000 people, including Franco himself, at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, the hosts won 2–1 after a late goal from Marcelino.[2]

Qualified teams

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Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in tournament[A]
  Denmark Quarter-final winner 18 December 1963 0 (debut)
  Spain (host) Quarter-final winner 8 April 1964 0 (debut)
  Hungary Quarter-final winner 23 May 1964 0 (debut)
  Soviet Union Quarter-final winner 27 May 1964 1 (1960)
  1. ^ Bold indicates champion for that year.

Venues

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Madrid Barcelona
Santiago Bernabéu Camp Nou
Capacity: 80,000 Capacity: 105,000
   

Squads

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Match officials

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Country Referee Matches refereed
  Belgium Arthur Blavier Semi-final: Spain 2–1 Hungary
  England Arthur Holland Final: Spain 2–1 Soviet Union
  Italy Concetto Lo Bello Semi-final: Denmark 0–3 Soviet Union
  Switzerland Daniel Mellet Third place play-off: Hungary 3–1 Denmark

Final tournament

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1964 European Nations' Cup finalists.

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, CET (UTC+1).

Bracket

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
17 June – Real Madrid
 
 
  Spain (a.e.t.)2
 
21 June – Madrid
 
  Hungary1
 
  Spain2
 
17 June – Barcelona
 
  Soviet Union1
 
  Denmark0
 
 
  Soviet Union3
 
Third place play-off
 
 
20 June – Barcelona
 
 
  Hungary (a.e.t.)3
 
 
  Denmark1

Semi-finals

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Spain  2–1 (a.e.t.)  Hungary
Report
Attendance: 34,713

Denmark  0–3  Soviet Union
Report
Attendance: 38,556

Third place play-off

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Hungary  3–1 (a.e.t.)  Denmark
Report
Attendance: 3,869

Final

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Spain  2–1  Soviet Union
Report, lineups
Attendance: 79,115

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There were 13 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 3.25 goals per match.

2 goals

1 goal

Awards

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UEFA Team of the Tournament[3]
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards
  Lev Yashin   Dezső Novák
  Ferran Olivella
  Feliciano Rivilla
  Ignacio Zoco
  Valentin Ivanov
  Amancio Amaro
  Luis Suárez
  Flórián Albert
  Ferenc Bene
  Chus Pereda

References

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  1. ^ "Spain's Marcelino stoops to conquer Europe". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 October 2003. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  2. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (12 May 2012). "Euro 1964: A forgotten Spanish triumph". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  3. ^ "1964 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
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