The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European 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, with the tournament consisting of the semi-finals, a third place play-off, and the final. 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]
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.
1968 UEFA European Football Championship 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.
Italy (1st title)
Yugoslavia
England
Soviet Union
Switzerland
Spain
West Germany
Hungary
86
Bobby Charlton
Pietro Anastasi
