View source for UEFA Euro 1968

{{EngvarB|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox international football competition
| tourney_name = UEFA European Football Championship
| year = 1968
| other_titles = Campionato europeo di calcio <br/> Italia 1968
| image = UEFA Euro 1968 logo.svg
| size = 200px
| caption = 
| country = Italy
| dates = 5–10 June
| num_teams = 4
| venues = 3
| cities = 3
| champion = ITA
| count = 1
| second = YUG
| third = ENG
| fourth = URS
| matches = 5
| goals = 7
| attendance = 260916
| top_scorer = {{fbicon|YUG}} [[Dragan Džajić]] {{nowrap|(2 goals)}}
| prevseason = [[1964 European Nations' Cup|1964]]
| nextseason = [[UEFA Euro 1972|1972]]
}}

The '''1968 UEFA European Football Championship''' final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third [[UEFA European Championship]], an event held every four years and organised by [[UEFA]]. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968.

It was in this year that the tournament changed its name from the "European Nations' Cup" to the "European Championship".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brewin |first1=John |last2=Williamson |first2=Martin |url=http://espnfc.com/en/news/1053821/european-nations-cup-1968.html |title=Euro 2012: European Nations Cup 1968 |website=[[ESPN FC]] |publisher=ESPN |date=29 April 2012 |access-date=23 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008105917/http://espnfc.com/en/news/1053821/european-nations-cup-1968.html |archive-date=8 October 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> There were also some changes in the tournament's qualifying structure, with the two-legged home-and-away knock-out stage being replaced by a group phase.

Four countries played in the final tournament, which consisted of the semi-finals, a [[third place play-off]], and the final. The host nation for the finals was selected from the four qualified nations.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sheringham |first=Sam |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17899534 |title=Euro 1968: Alan Mullery's moment of madness |publisher=BBC Sport |date=12 May 2012 |access-date=17 June 2012 }}</ref>

==Qualification==
{{main|UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying}}

The qualification competition was played in two stages: a group stage (taking place from 1966 until 1968) and the quarter-finals (played in 1968). There were seven groups of four teams and one of three, with matches played in a home-and-away basis. The eight group winners qualified for the quarter-finals, which were played in two legs, home and away. The winners of the quarter-finals went through to the final tournament.

This remains to this day the only World Cup or European Championship where a West or reunified German team was eliminated in the qualifying stages (they didn’t enter the [[1930 FIFA World Cup]], were banned from [[1950 FIFA World Cup|1950]] and didn’t enter the qualifying stages of [[1960 European Nations' Cup|UEFA Euro 1960]] or [[1964 European Nations' Cup|1964]] for unknown reasons)

===Qualified teams===
{{:UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying}}

==Venues==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan="4" | {{Location map+|Italy|float=center|width=250|caption=|places=
{{Location map~|Italy|lat=41.933886|long=12.454786|label=[[Rome]]|position=left}}
{{Location map~|Italy|lat=40.827967|long=14.193008|label=[[Naples]]|position=bottom}}
{{Location map~|Italy|lat=43.780822|long=11.282258|label=[[Florence]]|position=bottom}}}}
! [[Rome]]
! [[Naples]]
! [[Florence]]
|-
| [[Stadio Olimpico]]
| [[Stadio San Paolo]]
| [[Stadio Artemio Franchi|Stadio Comunale]]
|-
| Capacity: '''80,000'''
| Capacity: '''82,000'''
| Capacity: '''52,000'''
|-
| [[File:Stadio Olimpico 2008.JPG|200px]]
| [[File:Stadio San Paolo Serie A.jpg|200px]]
| [[File:Soccer in Florence, Italy, 2007.jpg|200px]]
|}

==Squads==
{{main|UEFA Euro 1968 squads}}

==Match officials==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Country
! Referee
|-
|{{flagicon|SUI}} [[Swiss Football Association|Switzerland]]
|[[Gottfried Dienst]]
|-
|{{flagicon|ESP|1945}} [[Royal Spanish Football Federation|Spain]]
|[[José María Ortiz de Mendíbil]]
|-
|{{flagicon|FRG}} [[German Football Association|West&nbsp;Germany]]
|[[Kurt Tschenscher]]
|-
|{{flagicon|HUN}} [[Hungarian Football Federation|Hungary]]
|[[István Zsolt]]
|}

==Final tournament==
{{main|UEFA Euro 1968 final tournament}}
[[File:Euro 1968.png|thumb|300px|1968 UEFA European Football Championship finalists]]

In all matches but the final, [[Overtime (sports)#Association football (soccer)|extra time]] and a [[Coin flipping|coin toss]] were used to decide the winner if necessary. If the final remained level after extra time, a [[Replay (sports)#Association football|replay]] would be used to determine the winner.

''All times are local, [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] ([[UTC+02:00|UTC+2]]).''

===Bracket===
{{#lst:UEFA Euro 1968 final tournament|bracket}}

===Semi-finals===
{{#lst:UEFA Euro 1968 final tournament|sf1}}
----
{{#lst:UEFA Euro 1968 final tournament|sf2}}

===Third place play-off===
{{#lst:UEFA Euro 1968 final tournament|tp}}

===Final===
{{main|UEFA Euro 1968 final}}
{{#lst:UEFA Euro 1968 final|final}}
----
{{#lst:UEFA Euro 1968 final|replay final}}

==Statistics==

===Goalscorers===
{{Goalscorers
|goals=7 |matches=5

|2 goals=
*{{fbicon|YUG}} [[Dragan Džajić]]

|1 goal=
*{{fbicon|ENG}} [[Bobby Charlton]]
*{{fbicon|ENG}} [[Geoff Hurst]]
*{{fbicon|ITA}} [[Pietro Anastasi]]
*{{fbicon|ITA}} [[Angelo Domenghini]]
*{{fbicon|ITA}} [[Gigi Riva]]
}}

===Awards===
;UEFA Team of the Tournament<ref>{{cite news|date=1 April 2011|title=1968 team of the tournament|publisher=Union of European Football Associations |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/0253-0d7bd1acdd1f-b4b923dfd47f-1000--euro-1968-team-of-the-tournament/?iv=true|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818103907/https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/0253-0d7bd1acdd1f-b4b923dfd47f-1000--euro-1968-team-of-the-tournament/?iv=true|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 August 2020|access-date=14 May 2020}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:25%;" | Goalkeeper
! style="width:25%;" | Defenders
! style="width:25%;" | Midfielders
! style="width:25%;" | Forwards
|- style="vertical-align:top;"
| {{fbicon|ITA}} [[Dino Zoff]]
| {{fbicon|ENG}} [[Bobby Moore]]<br />{{fbicon|ITA}} [[Giacinto Facchetti]]<br />{{fbicon|URS}} [[Albert Shesternyov]]<br />{{fbicon|YUG}} [[Mirsad Fazlagić]]
| {{fbicon|ITA}} [[Angelo Domenghini]]<br />{{fbicon|ITA}} [[Sandro Mazzola]]<br />{{fbicon|YUG}} [[Ivica Osim]]
| {{fbicon|ENG}} [[Geoff Hurst]]<br />{{fbicon|ITA}} [[Gigi Riva]]<br />{{fbicon|YUG}} [[Dragan Džajić]]
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111116162413/http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/season=1968/index.html UEFA Euro 1968] at UEFA.com

{{UEFA Euro 1968}}
{{UEFA Euro 1968 finalists}}
{{UEFA Euro 1968 stadiums}}
{{UEFA European Championship}}
{{1967–68 in European football (UEFA)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uefa Euro 1968}}
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1968| ]]
[[Category:UEFA European Championship tournaments|1968]]
[[Category:1967–68 in European men's football]]
[[Category:1967–68 in Italian football]]
[[Category:International association football competitions hosted by Italy|1968]]
[[Category:June 1968 sports events in Europe]]
[[Category:1967–68 in UEFA football]]