UEFA Euro 1972

1972 UEFA European Football Championship

UEFA Euro 1972 official logo
Tournament details
Host country	Belgium
Dates	14 June – 18 June
Teams	4
Venue(s)	4 (in 3 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	West Germany (1st title)
Runner-up	Soviet Union
Third place	Belgium
Fourth place	Hungary
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	10 (2.5 per match)
Attendance	121,880 (30,470 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Gerd Müller (4 goals)
← 1968 1976 →

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

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.

The hosts were only announced after the qualifying round, which meant all teams had to participate in the qualification process for the final stage. Belgium was chosen among three candidates; the other bids came from England and Italy, 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.

Venues

Brussels Liège Antwerp
	Brussels
	Heysel Stadium	Stade Émile Versé
	Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 42,800
	Liège	Antwerp
	Sclessin Stadium	Bosuil Stadium
	Capacity: 43,000	Capacity: 60,000

Qualifying round

Main article: UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying

The qualifying round was played throughout 1970 and 1971 (group phase), and 1972 (quarter-finals). There were eight qualifying groups of four teams each. The matches were played in a home-and-away basis. Victories were worth 2 points, draws 1 point, and defeats 0 points. Only group winners could qualify for the quarter-finals. The quarter-finals were played in two legs on a home-and-away basis. The winners of the quarter-finals would go through to the final tournament.

The following teams participated in the final tournament (see also UEFA Euro 1972 squads):

• Belgium (first appearance)
• Hungary
• Soviet Union
• West Germany (first appearance)

Final tournament

All time are CET/UTC+1

	Semi-finals				Final
	14 June – Antwerp (Bosuil Stadium)
	Belgium	1
	West Germany	2
					18 June – Brussels (Heysel Stadium)
					West Germany	3
					Soviet Union	0
					Third place
	14 June – Brussels (Stade Émile Versé)			17 June – Liège (Sclessin Stadium)
	Hungary	0		Hungary	1
	Soviet Union	1			Belgium	2

Semi-finals

14 June 1972 20:00	Belgium	1 – 2	West Germany	Bosuilstadion, Antwerp Attendance: 55,669 Referee: William J. Mullan (Scotland)
	Polleunis  83'	Report	Müller  24', 71'

---

14 June 1972 20:00	Hungary	0 – 1	Soviet Union	Stade Émile Versé, Brussels Attendance: 16,590 Referee: Rudi Glöckner (East Germany)
		Report	Konkov  53'

Third place play-off

17 June 1972 20:00	Hungary	1 – 2	Belgium	Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liege Attendance: 6,184 Referee: Johan Einar Boström (Sweden)
	Kű  53' (pen.)	Report	Lambert  24' Van Himst  28'

Final

Main article: UEFA Euro 1972 Final

18 June 1972 16:00	West Germany	3 – 0	Soviet Union	Heysel Stadium, Brussels Attendance: 43,437 Referee: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)
	Müller  27', 58' Wimmer  52'	Report

Statistics

• Fastest goal: 24 minutes
  • Raoul Lambert (Belgium vs Hungary)
  • Gerd Müller (West Germany vs Belgium)

Goalscorers

With four goals, Gerd Müller is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 10 goals were scored by 7 different players in 4 matches, for an average of 2.5 goals per game. None of the goals is credited as own goal.

4 goals

• Gerd Müller

1 goal

• Herbert Wimmer
• Anatoli Konkov
• Raoul Lambert
• Odilon Polleunis
• Paul Van Himst
• Lajos Kű

Awards

UEFA Team of the Tournament

Goalkeeper	Defenders	Midfielders	Forwards
Evgeny Rudakov	Revaz Dzodzuashvili	Uli Hoeneß	Raoul Lambert
	Franz Beckenbauer	Gunter Netzer	Jupp Heynckes
	Murtaz Khurtsilava	Herbert Wimmer	Gerd Müller
	Paul Breitner

External links

• EURO 1972 Official History

UEFA Euro 1972

Stages

Knockout stage · Final

General information

Squads · Qualification