1964 European Nations' Cup final

1964 European Nations' Cup Final

The Santiago Bernabéu (pictured in 2009) held the final.
Event	1964 European Nations' Cup
Spain Soviet Union 2 1
Date	21 June 1964 (1964-06-21)
Venue	Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
Referee	Arthur Holland (England)
Attendance	79,115
← 1960 1968 →

The 1964 European Nations' Cup Final was a football match at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid, on 21 June 1964, to determine the winner of the 1964 European Nations' Cup. It was the second final of what is now called the UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA's quadrennial football competition for national teams. The match was contested by Spain and the previous tournament winners, the Soviet Union. En route to the final, Spain defeated Romania, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland over two-legged ties before beating Hungary in the semi-final. The Soviet Union received a bye in the qualifying round before beating Italy, Sweden and Denmark en route to the final.

The referee for the final, played in front of an attendance of 79,115 spectators, was Arthur Holland from England. In the sixth minute, Marcelino dispossessed Valentin Ivanov and crossed for Chus Pereda, who scored to give Spain a 1–0 lead. Two minutes later, Viktor Anichkin passed to Galimzyan Khusainov, who equalised. With six minutes of the match remaining, Pereda beat Anichkin and played in a cross which Viktor Shustikov failed to clear, before Marcelino headed the winning goal inside the near post. Spain won the match 2–1 to win their first European Championship title.

Both finalists were unable to qualify for the 1964 Summer Olympics tournament, each side losing in the final qualifying round. Spain failed to progress past the group stage of the 1966 FIFA World Cup. The Soviet Union beat all three of their opponents in the group stage but, after defeating Hungary, they lost to West Germany in the semi-final, and to Portugal in the third-place play-off.