1964 European Nations' Cup

1964 European Nations' Cup

The 1964 UEFA European Nations' Cup was the second European Football Championship. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over defending champions Soviet Union.

The tournament was a knockout competition; 29 teams entered (Greece withdrew after being drawn with Albania). The Soviet Union, Austria, and Luxembourg received byes into the second round. The teams played home-and-away matches until the semi-finals; the final four teams would move on to the final tournament, whose host was selected after the teams became known.

Luxembourg proved to be the giant-killers of the qualifying rounds; they beat the Netherlands 3–2 on aggregate (1–1 and 2–1), and then drew with Denmark 3–3 and 2–2, before losing the replay 1–0. Denmark thus became the most surprising of the qualifiers for the final tournament, joining the Soviet Union, Spain, and Hungary.

In the semi-finals, the Soviet Union defeated the Danes 3–0 in Barcelona and Spain beat Hungary 2–1 in extra time in Madrid, the winning goal being scored by Amancio. Spain had withdrawn from the tournament in 1960 rather than play the Soviet Union, but on this occasion General Franco let his team play the Soviets. In front of more than 79,000 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, the hosts won 2–1 after a late goal from Marcelino.