1964 European Nations' Cup

1964 European Nations' Cup

Eurocopa España 1964
Tournament details
Host country	Spain
Dates	17–21 June
Teams	4
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 played	4
Goals scored	13 (3.25 per match)
Attendance	156,253 (39,063 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Ferenc Bene Dezső Novák Chus Pereda (2 goals each)
← 1960 1968 →

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]

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]