| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 1 May 1982 – 22 December 1983 |
| Teams | 32 |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 116 |
| Goals scored | 341 (2.94 per match) |
| Top scorer |  Karl-Heinz Rummenigge(7 goals) |
←1980 1988 → | |
| UEFA European qualifiers |
|---|
Thequalifying round for the1984 European Football Championship consisted of 32 teams divided into seven groups; three of four teams and four of five teams. The qualifying round was played at various times between May 1982 and December 1983, with some groups concluding earlier than others.[1]
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[A] |
|---|---|---|---|
 France | Host | 10 December 1981 | 1 (1960) |
 Belgium | Group 1 winner | 12 October 1983 | 2 (1972,1980) |
 Portugal | Group 2 winner | 1 November 1983 | 0 (debut) |
 Denmark | Group 3 winner | 16 November 1983 | 1 (1964) |
| West Germany | Group 6 winner | 20 November 1983 | 3 (1972,1976,1980) |
 Romania | Group 5 winner | 30 November 1983 | 0 (debut) |
 Yugoslavia | Group 4 winner | 21 December 1983 | 3 (1960,1968,1976) |
 Spain | Group 7 winner | 21 December 1983 | 2 (1964,1980) |
The draw took place on 8 January 1982 inParis, France. 32 teams were drawn from the five pots into the seven groups.France qualified automatically as hosts.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
West Germany (title holder) Spain Italy Poland Yugoslavia England Belgium |  Czechoslovakia Austria Netherlands Soviet Union East Germany Hungary Wales |  Scotland Northern Ireland Republic of Ireland Romania Greece Portugal Bulgaria |  Sweden Denmark Switzerland Finland Turkey Norway Iceland |  Albania Malta Cyprus Luxembourg |
There were a number of extremely close finishes in some of the qualifying groups. InGroup 2,Portugal edged out theSoviet Union by beating them narrowly 1–0 on a penalty byRui Jordão in Lisbon on the final day. Meanwhile, inGroup 5, again on the final day,Romania managed to hold on for a tense 1–1 draw inBratislava and qualify at the expense ofCzechoslovakia. A major surprise in this group was the poor performance of then-World Cup holdersItaly, who were rebuilding after the retirement of many of their1982 heroes and quickly dropped out of contention.
Another surprise was the qualification ofDenmark inGroup 3 at the expense ofEngland. Having conceded a 2–2 draw at home against theThree Lions, the hitherto unknown Danes performed well in their other qualifiers and capped their impressive campaign with a 1–0 win atWembley, while England dropped a point at home againstGreece that ultimately cost them the qualifying berth.
There was also heartbreak forNorthern Ireland inGroup 6. After managing to beat hot favouritesWest Germany both home and away earlier in the campaign, they came within 11 minutes of making it to France, but could only look on as Gerd Strack scored a crucial late winning goal for the West Germans in their own final fixture at home toAlbania.
InGroup 7,The Netherlands thought they had done enough to qualify, given that their closest rivalsSpain went into the final match needing to beatMalta by eleven goals in order to qualify. And when Spain went in at half-time inSeville leading the Maltese minnows by a margin of only 3–1, the Dutch could have been forgiven for assuming they were home and dry. Spain, incredibly, then proceeded to score nine more goals in the second half, the last of them coming in the 83rd minute fromJuan Señor, to book an unlikely passage to the finals. UEFA has since changed its rules: all teams now play their final game at exactly the same time and date, so that none of the teams has an advantage. Also, overall goal difference is now de-emphasised in the tie-breakers in favour of head-to-head results.
Things were tightest of all inGroup 4, whereWales,Bulgaria andYugoslavia were all in contention until the final few seconds of the last match in the group, between the latter two teams inSplit. A draw would have put the onlooking Welsh through to the finals, but just moments after Bulgaria had squandered a glorious chance to score the winning goal and seal their own qualification, Yugoslavian defenderLjubomir Radanović wrote himself into Balkan footballing history with the 90th-minute header that sent him and his teammates to France.
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:
Four groups of five teams and three groups of four teams competed for qualification for UEFA Euro 1984. The teams played home and away matches against the other teams nations in their group. The seven teams that acquired the most points to win their respective group qualified for the main tournament, joining the host nationFrance.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 | +4 | 9 | Qualify forfinal tournament | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | |
| 2 | Switzerland | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 6 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | East Germany | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 1–2 | 3–0 | — | 2–1 | ||
| 4 | Scotland | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 4 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 6 | +5 | 10 | Qualify forfinal tournament | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 5–0 | |
| 2 | Soviet Union | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 2 | +9 | 9 | 5–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| 3 | Poland | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | ||
| 4 | Finland | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–3 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5 | +12 | 13 | Qualify forfinal tournament | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 6–0 | |
| 2 | England | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 3 | +20 | 12 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 2–0 | 9–0 | ||
| 3 | Greece | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 8 | 0–2 | 0–3 | — | 2–2 | 1–0 | ||
| 4 | Hungary | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 7 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–3 | — | 6–2 | ||
| 5 | Luxembourg | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 36 | −31 | 0 | 1–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–6 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yugoslavia | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 11 | +1 | 8 | Qualify forfinal tournament | — | 4–4 | 3–2 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Wales | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 6 | +1 | 7 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Bulgaria | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 5 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–2 | ||
| 4 | Norway | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 4 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 12 | Qualify forfinal tournament | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | |
| 2 | Sweden | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 5 | +9 | 11 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 3 | Czechoslovakia | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 7 | +8 | 10 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | 6–0 | ||
| 4 | Italy | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 5 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | ||
| 5 | Cyprus | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 21 | −17 | 2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Germany | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 5 | +10 | 11 | Qualify forfinal tournament | — | 0–1 | 3–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | |
| 2 | Northern Ireland | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 11 | 1–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | ||
| 3 | Austria | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 9 | 0–0 | 2–0 | — | 4–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 4 | Turkey | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 16 | −8 | 7 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 3–1 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | Albania | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 14 | −10 | 2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | — |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | | | | | | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | +16 | 13 | Qualify forfinal tournament | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 12–1 | |
| 2 | Netherlands | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 6 | +16 | 13 | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | ||
| 3 | Republic of Ireland | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 20 | 10 | +10 | 9 | 3–3 | 2–3 | — | 2–0 | 8–0 | ||
| 4 | Iceland | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 13 | −10 | 3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | — | 1–0 | ||
| 5 | Malta | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 37 | −32 | 2 | 2–3 | 0–6 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — |
There were 342 goals scored in 116 matches, for an average of 2.95 goals per match.
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals
2 goals
Muhedin TargajFelix GasselichMax HagmayrLudo CoeckVáclav DaněkPetr JanečkaPetr RadaJesper OlsenGlenn HoddleSammy LeePaul MarinerBryan RobsonGyula HajszánAtli EðvaldssonAlessandro AltobelliJeannot ReiterCarmel BusuttilFrank RijkaardCees van KootenMartin O'NeillIan StewartNorman WhitesideÅge HareideArne Larsen ØklandHallvar ThoresenWłodzimierz SmolarekRui JordãoCarlos ManuelNenéAntónio OliveiraLiam BradyGerry DalyMark LawrensonKevin SheedyGary WaddockRodion CămătaruKenny DalglishCharlie NicholasJohn WarkOleg BlokhinFyodor CherenkovAnatoliy DemyanenkoUlf ErikssonRobert PrytzGlenn StrömbergAndré EgliHasan ŞengünSelçuk YulaRobbie JamesIan Rush1 goal
Genc TomorriErnst BaumeisterKarl BraunederBruno PezzeyToni PolsterHerbert ProhaskaJan CeulemansFranky VercauterenGeorgi DimitrovRusi GochevBozhidar IskrenovStoycho MladenovPlamen NikolovNasko SirakovBoycho VelichkovTakis MavrisFanis TheofanousMarios TsingisFivos VrahimisPřemysl BičovskýPavel ChaloupkaLadislav JurkemikMilan LuhovýZdeněk ProkešJiří SloupKlaus BerggreenSøren BuskAllan HansenSøren LerbyRainer ErnstRonald KreerHans RichterTerry ButcherMark ChamberlainSteve CoppellPhil NealPeter WitheKeijo KousaAri ValveeGeorgios KostikosLakis PapaioannouDimitris SaravakosBéla BodonyiGyőző BurcsaPéter HannichJózsef KardosLászló KissSándor KissGábor PölöskeiLázár SzentesMarteinn GeirssonAntonio CabriniFrancesco GrazianiPaolo RossiMarcel Di DomenicoThéo MalgetRomain SchreinerSilvio DemanueleEmanuel FabriErnest Spiteri-GonziBud BrockenHugo HovenkampRonald KoemanEdo OphofMarco van BastenBen WijnstekersBilly HamiltonJohn McClellandTom LundZbigniew BoniekDariusz DziekanowskiPaweł KrólJanusz KupcewiczFernando GomesJosé LuísTony GrealishAshley GrimesKevin O'CallaghanMichael RobinsonMickey WalshIoan AndoneIon GeolgăuMichael KleinFlorea VăetușEamonn BannonPaul SturrockSergey AndreyevSergei BaltachaNikolay LarionovSergey RodionovLobo CarrascoRafael GordilloVíctor MuñozJuan Carlos PedrazaManuel SarabiaGlenn HysénMats JingbladAndreas RavelliHåkan SandbergThomas SunessonJean-Paul BriggerAlain GeigerHeinz HermannMarco SchällibaumClaudio SulserArif KocabıyıkMetin TekinFatih Terimİlyas TüfekçiJeremy CharlesBrian FlynnJoey JonesWolfgang DremmlerUli StielikeGerhard StrackMehmed BaždarevićZvjezdan CvetkovićMiodrag JešićZlatko KranjčarLjubomir RadanovićDušan SavićNenad StojkovićZlatko VujovićZvonko Živković1 own goal
Agustin Kola (against Austria)Ján Kapko (against Italy)Jukka Ikäläinen (against Portugal)Marcel Bossi (against England)Paweł Janas (against Finland)Roman Wójcicki (against Soviet Union)Mick Martin (against Spain)Heinz Ludi (against Belgium)Raşit Çetiner (against Albania)| Tournaments | |
|---|---|
| Qualifying | |
| Finals | |
| Squads | |
| Bids | |
| Statistics | |
| Broadcasting rights | |
| Other records | |
| Miscellaneous | |
