The 1968 European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the 3rd edition of the European Football Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between June 5 and June 10, 1968.
It was in this edition that the tournament changed its name from European Nations Cup to European Championship.
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.
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 that they had to qualify, along with all the others, for the final stage.
Venues
- Stadio San Paolo , Naples - Capacity: 72,800
- Stadio Comunale , Florence - Capacity: 47,000
- Stadio Olimpico , Rome - Capacity: 86,500
Qualification
The qualification competition was played in two stages: a group stage (taking place from 1966 until 1968) and the quater-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.
Group phase
* Group 8's results were formed by combining the results of the 1966-1967 and 1967-1968 British Home Championships
Quarter-finals
1st Leg - Saturday April 6, 1968
17:00 EET Vassil Levski Stadium , Sofia
Referee: Gerhard Schulenburg (West Germany)
| Bulgaria
| 3 - 2
| (1-0)
| Italy
|
| Kotkov 12' pen
|
| Penev 61' own goal
|
| Dermendjiev 66'
|
| Prati 83'
|
| Jekov 73'
|
2nd Leg - Saturday April 20, 1968
16:00 CET Stadio San Paolo , Naples
Referee: Gottfried Dienst (SWI)
Italy won 4-3 on aggregate.
1st Leg - Saturday May 4, 1968
17:00 CET Ferenc Puskas Stadium , Budapest
Referee: Laurens van Ravens (NET)
2nd Leg - Saturday May 11, 1968
19:30 MSK Luzhniki Stadium , Moscow
Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)
Soviet Union won 3-2 on aggregate.
1st Leg - Wednesday April 3, 1968
19:45 GMT Wembley Stadium, London
Referee: Gilbert Droz (SWI)
2nd Leg - Wednesday May 8, 1968
20:30 CET Santiago Bernabéu stadium, Madrid
Referee: Josef Krnavek (CZE)
England won 3-1 on aggregate.
1st Leg - Saturday April 6, 1968
16:00 CET Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
Referee: Erwin Vetter (West Germany)
2nd Leg - Wednesday May 24, 1968
16:30 CET Partizan Stadium , Belgrade
Referee: Paul Schiller (AUT)
| Yugoslavia
| 5 - 1
| (4-1)
| France
|
| Petkovic 3'
|
| Di Nallo 34'
|
| Musemic 12'
|
| Dzajic 24'
|
| Petkovic 33'
|
| Musemic 80'
|
Yugoslavia won 6-2 on aggregate.
Final tournament
Semi-finals
Wednesday June 5, 1968
18:00 CET Stadio San Paolo , Naples
Referee: Kurt Tschenscher (West Germany)
Italy through on coin toss.
21:15 CET Stadio Comunale , Florence
Referee: José Maria Ortiz de Mendibil (SPA)
Third place match
Saturday June 8, 1968
15:00 CET Stadio Olimpico , Rome
Referee: Istvan Zsolt (HUN)
Final
Saturday June 8, 1968
22:15 CET Stadio Olimpico , Rome
Referee: Gottfried Dienst (SWI)
Final replay
Monday June 10, 1968
21:15 CET Stadio Olimpico , Rome
Referee: José Maria Ortiz de Mendibil (SPA)
Top scorers
2 Goals
1 Goal
- Luigi RIVA (ITA)
- Angelo DOMENGHINI (ITA)
- Pietro ANASTASI (ITA)
- Geoff HURST (ENG)
- Bobby CHARLTON (ENG)