The 1960 European Nations' Cup was the inaugural tournament of the UEFA European Championship, held every four years and organised by UEFA. The first tournament was held in France. It was won by the Soviet Union, who beat Yugoslavia 2–1 in Paris after extra time.
| Coupe d'Europe des nations de football France 1960 (in French) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | France |
| Dates | 6–10 July |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 2 (in 2 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Soviet Union (1st title) |
| Runners-up |  Yugoslavia |
| Third place |  Czechoslovakia |
| Fourth place |  France |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 17 (4.25 per match) |
| Attendance | 78,958 (19,740 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | François Heutte Valentin Ivanov Viktor Ponedelnik Milan Galić Dražan Jerković (2 goals each) |
1964 → | |
The tournament was a knockout competition, with just 17 teams entering. There were some notable absences, including West Germany, Italy, Netherlands and England, each of whom had voted against the creation of the tournament in 1957.[1] The entrants would play home-and-away matches until the semi-finals; the final four teams would then move on to the final tournament, whose host was selected after the teams became known.
In the quarter-finals, Spain, who were under Francoist rule, refused to travel to the Soviet Union for political reasons. After a proposal to play the tie over one leg at a neutral venue were rejected by the Soviets,[2][3] Spain were disqualified: accordingly, three of the final four teams were from communist countries: the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and SFR Yugoslavia, to go with hosts France.
In the semi-finals, the Soviets made easy work of the Czechoslovaks in Marseille, beating them 3–0. The other match saw a nine-goal thriller as Yugoslavia came on top 5–4 after coming back from a two-goal deficit twice. Czechoslovakia beat the demoralised French 2–0 for third place.
In the final, Yugoslavia scored first, but the Soviet Union, led by legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin, equalised in the 49th minute. After 90 minutes the score was 1–1, and Viktor Ponedelnik scored with seven minutes left in extra time to give the Soviets the inaugural European Championship.[4]
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on |
|---|---|---|
| France (host) |
Quarter-finals winner | 27 March 1960 |
| Yugoslavia |
Quarter-finals winner | 22 May 1960 |
| Soviet Union |
Quarter-finals winner[A] | 28 May 1960 |
| Czechoslovakia |
Quarter-finals winner | 29 May 1960 |
 |
Paris | Marseille |
|---|---|---|
| Parc des Princes | Stade Vélodrome | |
| Capacity: 40,000 | Capacity: 40,000 | |
|
|
| Country | Referee |
|---|---|
 England
|
Arthur Ellis |
 Belgium
|
Gaston Grandain |
 Italy
|
Cesare Jonni |
In all matches but the final, extra time and a coin toss were used to decide the winner if necessary. If the final remained level after extra time, a replay would be used to determine the winner.
All times are local, CET (UTC+1).
| Semi-finals | Final | ||||
| ||||||
| 6 July – Marseille | |||||
| ||||||
| Czechoslovakia | 0 | ||||
| 10 July – Paris | |||||
| Soviet Union | 3 | ||||
| Soviet Union (a.e.t.) | 2 | ||||
| 6 July – Paris | |||||
| Yugoslavia | 1 | ||||
| France | 4 | ||||
| ||||||
| Yugoslavia | 5 | ||||
| Third place play-off | |||||
| ||||||
| 9 July – Marseille | |||||
| ||||||
| Czechoslovakia | 2 | ||||
| ||||||
| France | 0 | ||||
| France | 4–5 | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
 43', 62' 53' |
Report |
55' 75' 78', 79' |
Attendance: 26,370
Referee: Gaston Grandain (Belgium)
| Czechoslovakia | 0–3 | Soviet Union |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
66' |
Attendance: 25,184
Referee: Cesare Jonni (Italy)
| Czechoslovakia | 2–0 | France |
|---|---|---|
88' |
Report |
Attendance: 9,438
Referee: Cesare Jonni (Italy)
| Soviet Union | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
113' |
Report |
|
Attendance: 17,966
Referee: Arthur Ellis (England)
There were 17 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 4.25 goals per match.
2 goals
Valentin Ivanov Viktor Ponedelnik Milan Galić Dražan Jerković1 goal
Ladislav Pavlovič Jean Vincent Maryan Wisniewski Slava Metreveli Tomislav Knez Ante Žanetić| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lev Yashin
|
Ladislav Novák Vladimir Durković
|
Josef Masopust Valentin Ivanov Igor Netto
|
Slava Metreveli Viktor Ponedelnik Milan Galić Bora Kostić Dragoslav Šekularac
|
At a Uefa congress in 1957, a motion to set up a European championship was finally put to the floor. Predictably, the British associations acted like a petulant child, just as it had done three decades earlier with the World Cup. Fearing such a tournament would interfere with the Home Internationals, it abstained, though this time it was by no means the only offender: seven other countries voted against, including West Germany, Italy and Holland.
