UEFA Euro 1972
The 1972 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Belgium. This was the fourth European Football Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 14 and 18 June 1972.
| Europees kampioenschap voetbal 1972 (in Dutch) Championnat du Football Européen 1972 (in French) UEFA Fußball-Europameisterschaft 1972 (in German) | |
|---|---|
 UEFA Euro 1972 official logo | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Belgium |
| Dates | 14–18 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  |
| Runners-up |  |
| Third place | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Fourth place |  |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 10 (2.5 per match) |
| Attendance | 121,880 (30,470 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | |
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
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 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.
Qualified teams
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[upper-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-final winner | 13 May 1972 | 0 (debut) |
| Quarter-final winner | 13 May 1972 | 3 (1960, 1964, 1968) |
| Quarter-final winner | 13 May 1972 | 0 (debut) |
| Quarter-final winner | 17 May 1972 | 1 (1964) |
- Bold indicates champion for that year.
Venues
| Brussels | Liège | |
|---|---|---|
| Heysel Stadium | Stade Émile Versé | Stade Maurice Dufrasne |
| Capacity: 60,000 | Capacity: 42,800 | Capacity: 43,000 |
 |
 |
 |
| Antwerp | ||
| Bosuilstadion | ||
| Capacity: 60,000 | ||
 | ||
Squads
Match officials
| Country | Referee |
|---|---|
 |
Johan Einar Boström |
 |
Rudi Glöckner |
 |
Ferdinand Marschall |
 |
William Mullan |
Final tournament
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
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 14 June – Antwerp | ||||||
| 1 | |||||
| 18 June – Brussels | ||||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 14 June – Brussels | ||||||
| 0 | |||||
| 0 | |||||
| 1 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 17 June – Liège | ||||||
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
Semi-finals
Third place play-off
Final
Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 10 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per match.
4 goals
1 goal
Awards
- UEFA Team of the Tournament[5]
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
References
- Henson, Mike (12 May 2012). "Euro 1972: West Germany sweep the continent on finals debut". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- "Sportflitsen" (in Dutch). De Tijd. 14 March 1972. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
- "Müller the menace in German masterclass". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 3 October 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- "European Football Championship 1972 FINAL". euro2000.org. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- "1972 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
