The European championship played in the original format: 8 preliminary groups, the winners going to ¼ finals in two legs, then the semi-finals, a match for third place and lastly the final – Belgium hosted the final round. The final games were played in Brussels (2 games including the final), Liege (the match for 3rd place), and Antwerpen (the semifinal Belgium-West Germany). Extra time and penalty shoot-out were introduced at the final stage, if necessary. Everything after the group stage was played in 1972 – in the spring, before the final 4 played in June.
[Apr 29, London] England 1-3 West Germany [Lee 77; U.Hoeneß 26, Netzer 85pen, G.Müller 89] [May 13, Berlin] West Germany 0-0 England
[Apr 29, Milano] Italy 0-0 Belgium [May 13, Bruxelles] Belgium 2-1 Italy [Van Moer 23, Van Himst 72; Riva 85pen][Apr 29, Budapest] Hungary 1-1 Romania [Branikovits 11; Satmareanu 55] [May 14, Bucuresti] Romania 2-2 Hungary [Dobrin 14, Neagu 82; Szöke 5, Kocsis 35] [May 17, Beograd] Hungary 2-1 Romania [Kocsis 27, 89; Neagu 34][Apr 30, Beograd] Yugoslavia 0-0 Soviet Union [May 13, Moskva] Soviet Union 3-0 Yugoslavia [Kolotov 53, Banishevski 74, Kozinkevich 90]
