The 1972 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Belgium. This was the fourth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 14 and 18 June 1972.
| Europees kampioenschap voetbal België 1972 (in Dutch) Championnat d'Europe de football Belgique 1972 (in French) Fußball-Europameisterschaft Belgien 1972 (in German) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Belgium |
| Dates | 14–18 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  West Germany (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Soviet Union |
| Third place |  Belgium |
| Fourth place |  Hungary |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 10 (2.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 121,880 (30,470 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Gerd Müller (4 goals) |
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 all teams had to participate in the qualification process for the final stage.[1] Belgium was chosen among three candidates; the other bids came from England and Italy,[2] whose teams did not reach the semi-finals.
West Germany won the tournament, beating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final, with goals coming from Gerd Müller (twice) and Herbert Wimmer at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.[3]
Qualification edit
The qualifying round was played throughout 1970 and 1971 (group phase), and 1972 (quarter-finals). There were eight qualifying groups of four teams each. The matches were played in a home-and-away basis. Victories were worth two points, draws one point, and defeats no 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 went through to the final tournament.
Quarterfinal- Play Offs edit
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Replay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Italy 
|
1–2 | Belgium
|
0–0 | 1–2 | |
| Hungary
|
5–4 |  Romania
|
1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 |
England 
|
1–3 | West Germany
|
1–3 | 0–0 | |
Yugoslavia 
|
0–3 | Soviet Union
|
0–0 | 0–3 |
Qualified teams edit
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[A] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium (host) |
Quarter-final winner | 13 May 1972 | 0 (debut) |
| Soviet Union |
Quarter-final winner | 13 May 1972 | 3 (1960, 1964, 1968) |
| West Germany |
Quarter-final winner | 13 May 1972 | 0 (debut) |
| Hungary |
Quarter-final winner | 17 May 1972 | 1 (1964) |
- ^ Bold indicates champion for that year.
Venues edit
| Brussels | Liège | |
|---|---|---|
| Heysel Stadium | Stade Émile Versé | Stade Maurice Dufrasne |
| Capacity: 75,000 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 35,000 |
|
|
|
| Antwerp | ||
| Bosuilstadion | ||
| Capacity: 60,000 | ||
| ||
Squads edit
Match officials edit
| Country | Referee |
|---|---|
 Sweden
|
Johan Einar Boström |
 East Germany
|
Rudi Glöckner |
 Austria
|
Ferdinand Marschall |
 Scotland
|
William Mullan |
Final tournament edit
At the final tournament, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.
All times are local, CET (UTC+1)
Bracket edit
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 14 June – Antwerp | ||||||
| Belgium | 1 | |||||
| 18 June – Brussels (Heysel) | ||||||
| West Germany | 2 | |||||
| West Germany | 3 | |||||
| 14 June – Brussels (Émile Versé) | ||||||
| Soviet Union | 0 | |||||
| Hungary | 0 | |||||
| Soviet Union | 1 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 17 June – Liège | ||||||
| Hungary | 1 | |||||
| Belgium | 2 | |||||
Semi-finals edit
Third-place play-off edit
Final edit
Statistics edit
Goalscorers edit
There were 10 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per match.
4 goals
1 goal
Awards edit
- UEFA Team of the Tournament[4]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yevhen Rudakov
|
Revaz Dzodzuashvili Murtaz Khurtsilava Franz Beckenbauer Paul Breitner
|
Uli Hoeneß Günter Netzer Herbert Wimmer
|
Raoul Lambert Jupp Heynckes Gerd Müller
|
References edit
- ^ Henson, Mike (12 May 2012). "Euro 1972: West Germany sweep the continent on finals debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ^ "Sportflitsen" [Sports flashes] (in Dutch). De Tijd. 14 March 1972. Retrieved 19 September 2015 – via Delpher.
- ^ "Müller strikes twice as West Germany beat USSR in 1972 EURO final". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 October 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ "1972 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
External links edit
- UEFA Euro 1972 at UEFA.com