The 1972 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Belgium. This was the fourth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 14 and 18 June 1972.

1972 UEFA European Football Championship
Europees kampioenschap voetbal België 1972 (in Dutch)
Championnat d'Europe de football Belgique 1972 (in French)
Fußball-Europameisterschaft Belgien 1972 (in German)
Tournament details
Host countryBelgium
Dates14–18 June
Teams4
Venue4 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions West Germany (1st title)
Runners-up Soviet Union
Third place Belgium
Fourth place Hungary
Tournament statistics
Matches played4
Goals scored10 (2.5 per match)
Attendance121,880 (30,470 per match)
Top scorerWest Germany Gerd Müller (4 goals)
1968
1976

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

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The qualifying round was played throughout 1970 and 1971 (group phase), and 1972 (quarter-finals). There were eight qualifying groups of four teams each, with matches played on a home-and-away basis. The group winners qualified for the quarter-finals, played in two legs, home and away. The winners of the quarter-finals went through to the final tournament.

Qualified teams

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Team Qualified as Qualified on Previous appearances in tournament[A]
 Belgium (host)Quarter-final winner13 May 19720 (debut)
 Soviet UnionQuarter-final winner13 May 19723 (1960, 1964, 1968)
 West GermanyQuarter-final winner13 May 19720 (debut)
 HungaryQuarter-final winner17 May 19721 (1964)
  1. Bold indicates champion for that year.

Venues

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Brussels Liège
Heysel Stadium Stade Émile Versé Stade Maurice Dufrasne
Capacity: 75,000 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 35,000
Antwerp
Bosuilstadion
Capacity: 60,000

Squads

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Match officials

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Final tournament

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Finalists and their results

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

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Semi-finalsFinal
 
      
 
14 June – Antwerp
 
 
 Belgium1
 
18 June – Brussels (Heysel)
 
 West Germany2
 
 West Germany3
 
14 June – Brussels (Émile Versé)
 
 Soviet Union0
 
 Hungary0
 
 
 Soviet Union1
 
Third place play-off
 
 
17 June – Liège
 
 
 Hungary1
 
 
 Belgium2

Semi-finals

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Hungary 0–1 Soviet Union
Report

Belgium 1–2 West Germany
Report
Attendance: 55,669

Third-place play-off

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Hungary 1–2 Belgium
Report

Final

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West Germany 3–0 Soviet Union
Report
Attendance: 43,437

Statistics

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Goalscorers

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There were 10 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per match.

4 goals

1 goal

Awards

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References

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  1. Henson, Mike (12 May 2012). "Euro 1972: West Germany sweep the continent on finals debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  2. "Sportflitsen" [Sports flashes]. De Tijd : Dagblad voor Nederland (in Dutch). De Tijd. 14 March 1972. Retrieved 19 September 2015 via Delpher.
  3. "Müller strikes twice as West Germany beat USSR in 1972 EURO final". UEFA. Union of European Football Associations. 3 October 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  4. "1972 team of the tournament". Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
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