Euro 1964 Championships - Review & History
The 1964 UEFA European Football Championship's, was still called the European Nations Cup and was the second running of the UEFA European Football Championship following the first event in France in 1960. The Euro 1964 Final's were hosted in Spain and the tournament was won by the hosts Spain 2-1 who defeated the defending champions, the former Soviet Union.
The 1964 tournament was a knockout competition with 29 teams entering, the Greeks withdrew after being scheduled to meet Albania. The former Soviet Union, Austria, and Luxembourg all received byes into the second round. All nations played home-and-away matches until the semi-finals with the last four teams moving onto the finals. The hosts Spain were chosen after the final four teams were known.
The micro-nation of Luxembourg proved to be the surprise package of the qualifying rounds by beating a strong Dutch team 3-2 on aggregate. They then drew 3-3 and 2-2 with Denmark, before losing the in a replay 1-0. The final four teams were made up of Denmark, the Soviet Union, the hosts Spain and Hungary.
In the semi-finals, the holders Soviet Union beat Denmark 3-0 in Barcelona and Spain defeated Hungary 2-1 (AET) in Madrid. Spain withdrew from Euro 1960 due to political issues in facing the Soviet Union, however this time around Franco let his team play the Soviets. A capacity crowd in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Madrid witnessed the hosts win 2-1 thus making Spain the 1964 Euro Champions.
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Euro 1964 Nations Cup results (Held in Spain)
Semi-finals
Soviet Union 3-0 Denmark
Spain 2-1 Hungary
Third place play-off
Hungary v Denmark
FINAL
Spain 2-1 Soviet Union
TOP SCORERS 1964
Jesus Maria Pereda(Spain) 2
Ferenc Bene(Hungary) 2
Dezso Novak (Hungary) 2
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