Ahead of Euro 2024, Sports Mole looks back on the first-ever Euros, which took place in 1960 under a different name.
Germany is currently preparing to play host to the latest edition of the European Championship with a record-equalling amount of teams ready to battle it out for the trophy.
Here, though, we reflect on the first ever Euros, which took place in 1960 under its original moniker of the European Nations Cup. The tournament was held in France, with the Parc des Princes in Paris hosting the final.
Relive its key moments and controversies, as we build up to the 17th edition of the tournament, which starts in a weeks’ time.
Which teams played in the first ever Euros?
Only four teams played in the Euro 1960 tournament, in comparison to 24 that will be playing at Euro 2024. The four teams that played in Euro 1960 were the hosts France, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the USSR (Soviet Union).
How did they qualify?
Only 17 teams entered qualifying for Euro 1960, in comparison to 53 for the Euro 2024 tournament. This was due to a few reasons, as the likes of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and West Germany declined to participate. There were also fewer independent nations compared to now, with much of Eastern Europe was part of the USSR, while several Central European nations known today fell within Czechoslovakia or Yugoslavia.
Two teams (the Republic of Ireland and Czechoslovakia) were randomly drawn into a preliminary qualification round, with ties played over two legs. Czechoslovakia overcame a 2-0 first leg deficit with a 4-0 demolition of the Irish to join the other 15 sides in the qualifiers. Standard two-legged round of 16 and quarter-final stages then ensued to whittle the teams down to just four for the final tournament.
There was certainly no shortage of entertainment, with Yugoslavia’s 3-1 aggregate win over Bulgaria being the lowest scoring of the ties actually completed. The only asterisk in qualifying was Spain’s refusal to travel to the USSR, and they were duly disqualified, giving the Soviets a walkover.
Who won Euro 1960 and how?
Euro 1960 was won by the USSR, after they beat Yugoslavia 2-1 in the final after extra-time. Milan Galic had put Yugoslavia ahead in the first half, before Slava Metreveli levelled proceedings in the second. Viktor Ponedelnik then headed home the winner for the USSR in the 113th minute, in front of a crowd of 17,966 at the Parc des Princes.
The USSR had knocked out Czechoslovakia 3-0 in the semi-finals, while Yugoslavia defeated France 5-4, in what remains the highest scoring game in Euros history. Czechoslovakia beat France 2-0 in the third-place playoff.
Who were the best players at Euro 1960?
Lev Yashin
Legendary USSR goalkeeper Lev Yashin was named in the team of the tournament, and made a number of fine saves in the final to keep his team in it, before they went on to lift the trophy. Prior to that, he had also been an accomplished ice hockey goalkeeper too, winning the Soviet Cup for Dynamo Moscow in 1953.
Another member of the USSR side in Valentin Ivanov also made the team of the tournament. The midfielder scored two goals in the competition, and was the joint-highest scorer with four other players.
Milan Galic
Finishing as the joint-top scorer alongside several others, Galic was on the losing Yugoslavia side in the final, but still impressed for his nation and was a comfortable entry into the Team of the Tournament.
One of his two goals came in the final, while he also scored the first ever Euros goal in Euro 1960’s opening match, as Yugoslavia played out a 5-4 thriller against France in the first semi-final.
Viktor Ponedelnik
One of the tournament’s other top scorers was USSR forward Ponedelnik, who famously netted the winning goal in the final. Ponedelnik was also named in the team of the tournament – one of five USSR players to have that accolade – with the winners unsurprisingly having the biggest representation
