1968, Italy
It was 1968 when European Nation's Cup was renamed to European Championship. Some tweaking was also done to the qualifying structure as the two-legged home and away knock-out was done away with and a group system was introduced instead.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: May 21, 2012 06:03 PM IST
It was 1968 when European Nation's Cup was renamed to European Championship. Some tweaking was also done to the qualifying structure as the two-legged home and away knock-out was done away with and a group system was introduced instead. As was the trend back then, the hosts were announced after the qualifying was over.
At the time, only four countries could play the final tournament which meant that there were only the semi-finals, the final and the third place match.
A total of 31 teams were pitted against each other in the group stages. Spain, Bulgaria, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Italy, France and England were the teams that made it to the quarter-final stage. This was to be played in the home and away knock-out format.
Bulgaria took on Italy, Hungary faced Soviet Union, England were pitted against defending champions Spain and France had Yugoslavia as their opponents. It was England, Italy, Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union who emerged winners and qualified for the final tournament which was to be held in Italy.
The semi-final played between hosts Italy and Soviet Union ended in a dull 0-0 draw and it was a toss that decided the match. Italy won the toss and were the second hosts on the trot to reach the finals. In the second semi Yugoslavia defeated England 1-0 to set up a showdown with the hosts.
The final saw some extreme drama as the hosts struck late to earn a 1-1 draw which was later recalled as a lucky escape by Italy goalie Dino Zoff. Dragan Džajic, whose goal had eliminated world champions England in the last four, again appeared to have made the difference in Rome with the opener for Yugoslavia. But a late second half goal from Angelo Domenghini saved the day for Italy. No goal during extra time meant that the final had to be replayed. It is noteworthy that there was no penalty system at the time.
The replay saw Luigi Riva return for the hosts from a broken leg. This proved to be the difference between the two sides as Yugoslavia lost 2-0. The Azzurri's were within 9 minutes of a shattering loss in the first final but Riva and Anastasi scored in the replay to hand a comfortable victory to Italy. Having booked their place in the final with a coin toss against the Soviet Union, and come through a taxing first encounter in the 1-1 draw with Yugoslavia two days before, the hosts rode their luck to the trophy.