UEFA Euro 1988
Fußball-Europameisterschaft Bundesrepublik Deutschland 1988 | |
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Tournament details | |
Host country | West Germany |
Dates | 10–25 June |
Teams | 8 |
Venue(s) | 8 (in 8 host cities) |
Final positions | |
Champions | Netherlands (1st title) |
Runners-up | Soviet Union |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 15 |
Goals scored | 34 (2.27 per match) |
Attendance | 849,844 (56,656 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Marco van Basten (5 goals) |
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
France were the defending champions, but failed to qualify.
The tournament crowned
Bid process
West Germany won the right to host the tournament with five votes ahead of a joint bid from Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which earned one vote, and a bid from England.[1]
Because the Eastern Bloc disagreed that West Berlin was part of the Federal Republic of Germany, the German Football Association ruled out playing Championship matches in West Berlin. This secured the participation of Eastern European members of UEFA.[citation needed] In the 1974 FIFA World Cup, however, West Berlin had hosted three games.
As a compromise,
Overview
Group matches
The first group pitted two pre-tournament favourites
The Italians had not played at Euro 1984, though they had finished fourth in the 1980 tournament, for which they were the hosts; they had also won the 1982 World Cup, albeit followed by a middling performance in 1986. Spain and Denmark contested the second semi-final of the 1984 edition, in which Spain prevailed on penalty-kicks, but then lost the final to hosts, France (who failed to qualify in 1988). Both Spain and Denmark played in the 1986 World Cup, and met there again, in a Round of 16 match of the knockout stage which Spain won 5–1.
The Germans and Italians played out the opening game. This game was tightly contested. Roberto Mancini capitalised on a defensive error on the left-hand side of the German goal and the striker squeezed in a shot from a tight angle low to the left corner. Just three minutes later, Italy's goalkeeper, Walter Zenga was penalised for taking more than four steps with the ball and Andreas Brehme scored the resulting free-kick from the edge of the penalty area with a low shot to the right corner. Both teams settled for a 1–1 draw.
Spain defeated Denmark again, this time 3–2. Míchel opened the scoring after five minutes with a shot to the left corner from inside the penalty area and Michael Laudrup equalised 20 minutes later with a left foot shot from the edge of the penalty area to the left corner. Spain dominated the next hour and Emilio Butragueño scored with a low shot through the goalkeepers legs and then Rafael Gordillo putting the Spanish 3–1 to the good with a free-kick which deceived the goalkeeper. A late surge saw Flemming Povlsen reduce the scoreline with a header in off the left post, but was not enough for the Danes, who now needed to win both their remaining games to be certain of a place in the semi-finals.
In the remaining games the West Germans swept aside the Danes and Spanish. Jürgen Klinsmann and Olaf Thon scored to dispatch the former 2–0 while two goals from Rudi Völler were enough to beat Spain 2–0. The second goal was particularly notable. Lothar Matthäus ran 40 yards into the Spanish penalty box before back-heeling the ball for the oncoming Völler, following up his run, to strike the ball with the outside of his foot and into the corner of the goal.
The Italians won a difficult match against the Spanish 1–0, courtesy of a goal from Gianluca Vialli, a low cross-shot to the net on 73 minutes. In the last game, against an already eliminated Denmark, the Italians prevailed 2–0.
The second group witnessed a surprising set of results. In the opening game, one of the pre-tournament favourites England lost 1–0 to Ireland. Ray Houghton scored a looping header after six minutes after the English defence failed to clear a cross. The English applied strong pressure as the game wore on. Gary Lineker was unusually sluggish, missing a series of chances and hitting the crossbar – he was later diagnosed with hepatitis B.[3] In the other opening game, the Soviet Union defeated the Netherlands 1–0 through a Vasyl Rats goal, despite the Dutch dominating for long periods.
England met the Netherlands in
The Irish and Soviets led the group after two games through a 1–1 draw in Hanover. Ronnie Whelan scored a spectacular left-foot volley from 18 yards to put the Irish into the lead. Oleh Protasov equalised with a low shot as the Soviets exerted late pressure.
Needing to defeat the Irish to progress, the Dutch won the game 1–0 through a late Wim Kieft goal. The ball deflected into his path and he delivered a looping header which spun into the right corner of the Irish net with nine minutes remaining just after Paul McGrath hit a Dutch post with a header. In the other game, the Soviets soundly thrashed England. A mistake from Hoddle allowed Sergei Aleinikov to score after three minutes. Adams equalised and England had chances to go ahead, but a goal before half-time and late in the game assured the Soviet Union would finish in first place in the group.[4]
Semi-finals and final
The first semi-final was significant as rivals West Germany played the Netherlands. It was only the third time the two sides had faced each other since the
The other semi-final was another unpredictable result. Italy were strong favourites to reach the final and had beaten the Soviets 4–1 in a friendly just two months earlier. Despite controlling the play and having the majority of the chances, the Italians were undone by poor finishing and a strong, tough opposition who sought to stop their more skilful opponents from playing through hard tackles and a defensive strategy. The hard work-rate of the Soviets paid off and in just four second-half minutes, counter-attacks saw two goals from
The final was played on 25 June between the Soviet Union, in what would turn out to be the nation's last European Championship match, and the Netherlands at the Olympiastadion in Munich. The Dutch won the match 2–0, with goals by captain Ruud Gullit and tournament top scorer Marco van Basten. Hans van Breukelen blocked a low penalty shot of Igor Belanov. Van Basten's goal, a sharply hit volley across the goal off an incoming looping pass, would later be described as one of the greatest goals in the history of the European Championships.[5][6]
Qualification
Qualified teams
Seven countries had to qualify for the final stage. West Germany qualified automatically as hosts of the event. The Republic of Ireland qualified for the first time for any major tournament. The holders, France, failed to qualify despite finishing third in the 1986 World Cup. As of 2024, this is the last time that France failed to qualify for the European Championship finals, and since the conversion to a group stage in the finals tournament, this remains the only time the previous tournament winners failed to qualify for the next competition.[7] Other notable absentees were Belgium (the 1980 runners-up and 1986 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists) and Portugal (semi-finalists of Euro 1984). The following eight teams qualified for the final tournament:
Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[A] |
---|---|---|---|
West Germany | Host | 14 March 1985 | 4 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984) |
Denmark | Group 6 winner | 14 October 1987 | 2 (1964, 1984) |
Soviet Union | Group 3 winner | 28 October 1987 | 4 (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972) |
England | Group 4 winner | 11 November 1987 | 2 (1968, 1980) |
Republic of Ireland | Group 7 winner | 11 November 1987 | 0 (debut) |
Italy | Group 2 winner | 14 November 1987 | 2 (1968, 1980) |
Spain | Group 1 winner | 18 November 1987 | 3 (1964, 1980, 1984) |
Netherlands | Group 5 winner | 9 December 1987 | 2 (1976, 1980) |
- ^ Bold indicates champion for that year. Italic indicates host for that year.
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Venues
Munich | Gelsenkirchen | ||
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Olympiastadion | Parkstadion | ||
Capacity: 69,256 | Capacity: 70,748 | ||
Hamburg | Frankfurt | ||
Volksparkstadion | Waldstadion | ||
Capacity: 61,330 | Capacity: 61,056 | ||
Düsseldorf | Hanover | Stuttgart | Cologne |
Rheinstadion | Niedersachsenstadion | Neckarstadion | Müngersdorfer Stadion |
Capacity: 68,400 | Capacity: 60,366 | Capacity: 70,705 | Capacity: 60,584 |
Squads
Each national team had to submit a squad of 20 players.
Match officials
Country | Fourth officials |
---|---|
Poland | Michał Listkiewicz |
West Germany | Karl-Josef Assenmacher |
West Germany | Werner Föckler |
West Germany | Wolf-Günter Wiesel |
Group stage
The teams finishing in the top two of each group progressed to the semi-finals.
All times are local, CEST (UTC+2).
Tiebreakers
If two or more teams finished level on points after completion of the group matches, the following tie-breakers were used to determine the final ranking:
- Goal difference in all group matches
- Greater number of goals scored in all group matches
- Drawing of lots
Group 1
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | West Germany (H) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 5 | |
3 | Spain | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 2 | |
4 | Denmark | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
West Germany | 2–0 | Spain |
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Report |
Group 2
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Soviet Union | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | Advance to knockout stage |
2 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 | |
3 | Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
4 | England | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 |
England | 1–3 | Netherlands |
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Report |
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England | 1–3 | Soviet Union |
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Report |
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Knockout stage
In the knockout phase, extra time would be played if scores were level after 90 minutes, and a penalty shoot-out if teams could not be separated after the additional period.
Bracket
Semi-finals | Final | |||||
22 June – Stuttgart | ||||||
Soviet Union | 2 | |||||
25 June – Munich | ||||||
Italy | 0 | |||||
Soviet Union | 0 | |||||
21 June – Hamburg | ||||||
Netherlands | 2 | |||||
West Germany | 1 | |||||
Netherlands | 2 | |||||
Semi-finals
West Germany | 1–2 | Netherlands |
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Report |
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Soviet Union | 2–0 | Italy |
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Report |
Final
Soviet Union | 0–2 | Netherlands |
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Report |
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Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 34 goals scored in 15 matches, for an average of 2.27 goals per match.
5 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Michael Laudrup
- Flemming Povlsen
- Tony Adams
- Bryan Robson
- Alessandro Altobelli
- Luigi De Agostini
- Roberto Mancini
- Gianluca Vialli
- Ruud Gullit
- Wim Kieft
- Ronald Koeman
- Ray Houghton
- Ronnie Whelan
- Sergei Aleinikov
- Hennadiy Lytovchenko
- Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko
- Viktor Pasulko
- Vasyl Rats
- Emilio Butragueño
- Rafael Gordillo
- Míchel
- Andreas Brehme
- Jürgen Klinsmann
- Lothar Matthäus
- Olaf Thon
Awards
- UEFA Team of the Tournament[9]
Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
---|---|---|---|
Hans van Breukelen | Giuseppe Bergomi Paolo Maldini Ronald Koeman Frank Rijkaard |
Giuseppe Giannini Jan Wouters Lothar Matthäus |
Gianluca Vialli Ruud Gullit Marco van Basten |
References
- ISBN 978-3-89533-553-2
- ^ Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation: Four Nations Tournament (West-Berlin, West Germany 1988)
- ^ Smyth, Rob. "On Second Thoughts: Rob Smyth on England at Euro 88". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ^ "When Saturday Comes - Classic matches ~ England v USSR, Euro 68 & 88". Wsc.co.uk. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
- ^ Humphrey, Jake. "Which is the best Euro Goal Ever?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
- ^ "10 Greatest Goals in the European Championships". FourFourTwo. Haymarket Media Group. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ Magowan, Alistair (12 May 2012). "Euro 1988: Valery Lobanovsky's last stand for Soviet Union". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- ^ "European Football Championship 1988 FINAL". euro2000.org. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
- ^ "UEFA 1988 Team of the Tournament". UEFA.com. Retrieved 18 March 2015.