UEFA Euro 1972 final

UEFA Euro 1972 Final

The final was played at Heysel Stadium (pictured in 2013).
Event	UEFA Euro 1972
West Germany Soviet Union 3 0
Date	18 June 1972 (1972-06-18)
Venue	Heysel Stadium, Brussels
Referee	Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)
Attendance	43,437
← 1968 1976 →

The UEFA Euro 1972 Final was a football match played at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, on 18 June 1972, to determine the winner of the UEFA Euro 1972 tournament. It was the fourth UEFA European Football Championship final, UEFA's top football competition for national teams. The match was contested by West Germany and two-time tournament finalists, the Soviet Union. En route to the final, West Germany finished top of their qualifying group which included Turkey, Albania and Poland. After beating England over a two-legged tie in the quarter-finals, they progressed to the final after defeating tournament hosts Belgium in the semi-final. The Soviet Union won their qualifying group which included Cyprus and Spain, before beating Northern Ireland in the two-legged quarter-final and Yugoslavia in the single-match semi-final.

The final was played in front of 43,437 spectators and was refereed by Ferdinand Marschall from Austria. West Germany had several early chances to score but the Soviet Union goalkeeper Yevhen Rudakov made numerous saves. The deadlock was broken in the 27th minute when Franz Beckenbauer passed to Günter Netzer whose dipping shot rebounded off the cross-bar. Yuriy Istomin's attempted headed clearance fell to Jupp Heynckes whose half-volley was pushed out by Rudakov but Gerd Müller scored from the rebound to give West Germany a 1–0 lead. In the 52nd minute, Murtaz Khurtsilava lost possession of the ball to Herbert Wimmer who, after numerous West Germany passes, struck a left-footed shot past Rudakov to make it 2–0. Six minutes later, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck ran into the Soviet Union penalty area with the ball before being tackled by Khurtsilava, but the ball fell to Müller who scored. West Germany were 3–0 winners and secured the first European Championship title in their history.