| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 28 September 1958 – 29 May 1960 |
| Teams | 17 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 24 |
| Goals scored | 91 (3.79 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Titus Buberník Just Fontaine(5 goals each) |
1964 → | |
| UEFA European qualifiers |
|---|
This article describes thequalifying procedure for the1960 European Nations' Cup, the inaugural edition of the European Nations' Cup tournament, now known as theUEFA European Championship.[1]
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on |
|---|---|---|
| France (host) | Quarter-finals winner | 27 March 1960 |
 Yugoslavia | Quarter-finals winner | 22 May 1960 |
 Soviet Union | Quarter-finals winner[A] | 28 May 1960 |
| Czechoslovakia | Quarter-finals winner | 29 May 1960 |
The qualification was aknockout tournament where the teams would play atwo-legged tie on a home-and-away basis. If the aggregate scores were level at the end of the tie, a third leg was played at a neutral venue to decide the winners. It consisted of a preliminary round, a round of 16, and a quarter-final round. The four quarter-final winners would qualify forthe tournament proper; one of those four countries would then be chosen to host it.
17 teams entered the competition; notable absences includedWest Germany,Italy, World Cup finalistsSweden, and the fourHome Nations. Two of the entrants,Czechoslovakia and theRepublic of Ireland, were selected to play the preliminary round. The winner of that fixture would join the remaining 15 teams in the round of 16.
In fact, a few matches of the round of 16 took place before the preliminary round matches. The first European Nations' Cup qualifying match was played on 28 September 1958 between theSoviet Union andHungary. The first goal was scored byAnatoli Ilyin of the Soviet Union four minutes into that game. On 3 December 1958,Greece became the first team to be eliminated from the European Nations' Cup after losing 8–2 on aggregate toFrance.
Czechoslovakia and the Republic of Ireland were randomly selected to face each other in the preliminary round. The other 15 countries received byes to the round of 16.
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Republic of Ireland  | 2–4 | Czechoslovakia | 2–0 | 0–4 |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soviet Union | 4–1 |  Hungary | 3–1 | 1–0 |
| France | 8–2 |  Greece | 7–1 | 1–1 |
Romania  | 3–2 |  Turkey | 3–0 | 0–2 |
Norway  | 2–6 |  Austria | 0–1 | 2–5 |
| Yugoslavia | 3–1 |  Bulgaria | 2–0 | 1–1 |
East Germany  | 2–5 |  Portugal | 0–2 | 2–3 |
Poland  | 2–7 |  Spain | 2–4 | 0–3 |
Denmark  | 3–7 | Czechoslovakia | 2–2 | 1–5 |
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 9–4 | Austria | 5–2 | 4–2 |
| Portugal | 3–6 | Yugoslavia | 2–1 | 1–5 |
| Romania | 0–5 | Czechoslovakia | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| Soviet Union | w/o[note 1] | Spain | Canc. | Canc. |
There were 91 goals scored in 24 matches, for an average of 3.79 goals per match.
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Walter HorakRudolf PichlerErich ProbstKarl Skerlan
Todor DievLadislav KačániJosef MasopustLadislav PavlovičImrich StachoBent HansenJohn KramerPoul PedersenHorst KohleGerhard VogtStéphane BrueyFrançois HeutteJean-Jacques MarcelBernard RahisElias YfantisJános GöröcsLucjan BrychczyErnest PohlSantanaNoel CantwellLiam TuohyGheorghe ConstantinConstantin DinulescuNicolae OaidăAnatoli IlyinValentin IvanovSlava MetreveliYuriy VoynovEnric GensanaFrancisco GentoZvezdan ČebinacMuhamed MujićDragoslav ŠekularacLazar Tasić1 own goal
Roger Marche (against Greece)| Tournaments | |
|---|---|
| Qualifying | |
| Finals | |
| Squads | |
| Bids | |
| Statistics | |
| Broadcasting rights | |
| Other records | |
| Miscellaneous | |
