1972 UEFA European Football Championship
| Europees kampioenschap voetbal 1972 (Dutch) Championnat du Football Européen 1972 (French) UEFA Fußball-Europameisterschaft 1972 (German) |
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UEFA Euro 1972 official logo
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| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Belgium |
| Dates | 14 – 18 June |
| Teams | 4 |
| Venue(s) | 4 (in 3 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |
 West Germany (1st title)
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| Runners-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) |
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.
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):
At the final tournament, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.
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