| 1980 European Football Championship |
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Information About1980 European Football Championship |
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OVERVIEW This was the first edition in which eight teams, rather than four, could qualify for the final tournament. Seven of these countries had to qualify for the final stage. Also for the first time, the hosts, in this case Italy , qualified automatically for the finals. Is the first time to the history of the tournament that all the matches celebrated in an only country. Because of the expanded format, the final tournament went through some changes as well. Two groups of four teams each were created; each team would play all others within their group. The winners of the groups would go straight to the final (there were no semi-finals), while the runners-up disputed the third place match. The tournament generally failed to draw much enthusiasm for spectators and TV viewers alike. Attendance was generally poor except for Italy matches. The overly defensive style of play favored by many teams led to a succession of dull matches that did not leave lasting memories. Hooliganism, already a rising problem in the 1970s, made headlines again at the first-round match between England and Spain where riot police had to use tear gas, delaying the start of play. The only bright spots were the emergence of a new generation of talented West German stars such as Hans-Peter Briegel , Horst Hrubesch , Hansi Müller , or Karl-Heinz Rummenigge , and the inspired performance of offensively-minded Belgium (around rising stars such as Jan Ceulemans , Eric Gerets , Jean-Marie Pfaff , or Edwin Vandenbergh ) who unexpectedly reached the final, only losing to West Germany (1-2) on a Hrubesch goal two minutes before time. VENUES
SQUADS For a list of all squads that played in the final tournament, see 1980 European Football Championship (squads) FIRST ROUND ''All times local ( CET )'' ''Half-time scores are in brackets'' Group A
June 11 , 1980
June 14 , 1980
June 17 , 1980
Group B
June 12 , 1980
June 15 , 1980
June 18 , 1980
THIRD PLACE MATCH June 21 , 1980
FINAL June 22 , 1980
TOURNAMENT STATISTICS Goal Scorers 3 Goals 2 Goals 1 Goal
Fastest Goal 6 Minutes : Antonin Panenka (Czechoslovakia vs Greece) Average Goals 1.93 Per Game |
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