European Nations Cup 1960

The European Football Union decided to establish a European Cup competition for national teams at a meeting in Lisbon in May 1956, there were 14 votes for, 8 against and 7 abstentions. The proposal which carried stipulated a competition every four years mid-way between World Cup tournaments in Olympic years. On 5th June 1958, it was reported that 17 nations had signified their willingness to compete in the inaugural competition, none of them British, and that the details had yet to be finalized. Ultimately, the tournament was to consist of  a 2-leg knock-out 'Last 16' and Quarter-finals stage leading to a 4 match finals tournament (Semi-finals, 3rd-4th play off and final), there was also the need for one preliminary tie which saw the Republic of Ireland lose to Czechoslovakia. France were selected as hosts at the end of May/early June 1960 shortly after the Quarter-finals had been completed, Spain had refused to travel to the Soviet Union for their Quarter-final and so the Soviet Union were given a bye to the finals in which they emerged as champions.

ITV games are in white, BBC or non-televised matches are in grey.
All matches were broadcast in black & white.

British friendlies v continental opposition 1958-1960

Wales did not play any matches other than Home Internationals during this period.

Wed 15/Oct/1958    Spain 6 (Tejada 3, Suarez 2, Kubala) Northern Ireland 2 (Bingham, McIlroy)
Friendly in Madrid
*No TV coverage scheduled. A crowd of nearly 120,000 saw the Irish well beaten with goalkeeper Uprichard having to make at least seven brilliant saves in the first half.

Wed 22/Oct/1958    England 5 (Haynes 3, Charlton(pen), Lofthouse) Soviet Union 0
Friendly at Wembley
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*Live on BBC television from 2:30-4:15pm, highlights were shown on "Sportsview" at 8:20-8:45pm. Just 4 months after being knocked out of the World Cup by the Soviet Union, England met them for the 4th time in 1958 and finally managed to record a victory. Johnny Haynes netted a hat-trick with goals on 45, 63 and 80, Bobby Charlton added a 4th from the penalty spot on 84 and Nat Lofthouse made it 5-0 on 89. Sheffield United's Graham Shaw made his debut whilst Preston's Tom Finney appeared at international level for the 76th and final time.

Fri 01/May/1959    England 3 (Flowers, Charlton 2) Young England 3 (Parry, Pointer, Flowers(og))
Friendly at Highbury
BBC 2nd Half LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*The 2nd half was shown live on the BBC from 8:35-9:15pm. Young England came from 3-0 down, the equaliser coming as a result of a Jimmy Greaves effort which was deflected in off Flowers.

Wed 06/May/1959    England 2 (Charlton, Bradley) Italy 2 (Brighenti, Mariani)
Friendly at Wembley
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*Live on the BBC at 2:45-4:45pm, highlights were included alongside greyhound racing on "Sportsview" at 8:00-8:45pm. England led 2-0 at HT with goals by Bobby Charlton on 26 and debut boy Warren Bradley of Manchester United on 38, Italy came back in the 2nd half through Sergio Brighenti on 56 and an equaliser by Amos Mariani on 61.

Wed 06/May/1959    Scotland 3 (White, Weir, Leggat) West Germany 2 (Seeler, Juskowiak(pen))
Friendly at Hampden
SCOTTISH Highlights
*Scottish TV had a "Scotsport" programme at 10:25-10:55pm with highlights of this match. Four Scottish players made their international debut, three of them Motherwell players - Ian St John, Robert McCann and Andrew Weir plus Falkirk's John White. All 5 goals were scored in the opening half-hour, John White gave Scotland the lead in the 1st minute, Andrew Weir made it 2-0 on 6, Uwe Seeler then pulled one back on 14 before Graham Leggat made it 3-1 to Scotland on 23. West Germany won a penalty on 30 converted by Erich Juskowiak.

Wed 13/May/1959    Brazil 2 (Julinho, Frade) England 0
Friendly in Rio de Janeiro
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*The first of a four match tour of America, highlights were shown three days later on the BBC on Saturday night at 10.40-10.55pm. There were debuts for Jimmy Armfield of Blackpool and Norman Deeley of Wolves in front of 160,000 spectators in overcast conditions (a record attendance for an England match). It was the 3rd meeting of the two nations and the 1st victory for Brazil, Pelé played in this game but the goals came from Julinho (controversially selected ahead of Garrincha) on 3 and Henrique Frade on 28 as England were outplayed for most of the match.

Sun 17/May/1959    Peru 4 (Seminario 3, Joya) England 1 (Greaves)
Friendly in Lima
BBC Highlights
Ken Wolstenholme
*As with the above match, viewers had to wait three days to see BBC highlights which were shown on "Sportsview" on Wednesday at 7:30-8:00pm. This match is now notable for the debut of England legend Jimmy Greaves who scored on 58, but a hat-trick by Juan Seminario and another goal by Juan Joya gave Peru a 4-1 victory. Norman Deeley made his 2nd and final England appearance.

Sun 24/May/1959    Mexico 2 (Cardenas, Reyes) England 1 (Kevan)
Friendly in Mexico City
BBC Highlights
?Ken Wolstenholme?
*Another three day delay before highlights were shown on the BBC's "Sportsview" programme at 7:30-8:15pm (along with Boxing). Derek Kevan put England ahead on 14, Raul Cardenas headed in from a corner to equalise for the home side on 26. England then had two goals ruled out for offside before Salvador Reyes netted the winning goal for Mexico on 67. Soon after the 2nd Mexican goal, the stadium was rocked by an earthquake which shook Mexico City for about 20 seconds, but there were no casualties or damage and the players appeared to be unaffected. This match turned out to be the farewell England appearances for Wilf McGuinness (with 2 caps) and Albert Holden (5 caps).

Wed 27/May/1959    Netherlands 1 (Van der Gijp) Scotland 2 (Collins, Leggat)
Friendly in Amsterdam
*Possibly highligths on "Scotsport" at 10:15-10:45pm. Two Celtic players made their Scotland debuts, John Smith and Bertie Auld, but Auld was sent off in injury time. Cor van der Gijp had put the Dutch ahead on 18, Robert Collins netted the equaliser on 61 and Graham Leggat scored the winner on 65.

Thu 28/May/1959    USA 1 (Murphy) England 8 (Bradley, Flowers 2, Charlton 3(1pen), Kevan, Haynes)
Friendly in Los Angeles
*This fixture was probably not covered locally by American TV as there was no British TV coverage scheduled. The match was played on a baseball pitch on an uneven field, with one half being rough and bare of grass which England elected to attack in the first period, they fell behind in the 9th minute to an Ed Murphy goal but Warren Bradley equalised on 35 and England then scored 7 goals in the 2nd half attacking the smooth green end - Ron Flowers making it 2-1 on 52, Bobby Charlton got the 3rd on 64, Flowers scored again on 69, Derek Kevan for 5-1 on 74, a penalty was then converted by Bobby Charlton on 82, Charlton completed his hat-trick for 7-1 on 85 and Johnny Haynes grabbed the 8th on 87. England captain Billy Wright's international career came to an end with this match, his 105th cap. Warren Bradley, who netted the equaliser, also made his 3rd and final appearance.

Wed 03/Jun/1959    Portugal 1 (Matateu) Scotland 0
Friendly in Lisbon
*This match was most likely only shown in Portugal unless STV had a film recording sent over to broadcast a day or so later. Goalkeeper George Farm made his 10th and final appearance for Scotland, it was also the end of international duty for John Smith with 2 caps.

Wed 28/Oct/1959    England 2 (Connelly, Charlton) Sweden 3 (Simonsson 2, Salomonsson)
Friendly at Wembley
GRANADA 2nd half LIVE *other regions delayed
Kent Walton
*The match kicked-off at 2:30pm, Granada had live coverage of the 2nd half from 3:20-4:20pm, the other regions (who showed schools programmes into the late afternoon) had a delayed recording at 3:50-4:45pm. The BBC had a "Sportsview" at 8:00-9:30pm  which was scheduled to show football highlights (along with boxing) which may have been of this match. This was only the second continental victory at Wembley following Hungary's famous win on English soil 6 years earlier, John Connelly gave England the lead on 8, Sweden came back in the 2nd half with two goals by Agne Simonsson on 52 and 57, Bengt Salomonsson then made it 3-1 on 75 before Bobby Charlton pulled one back on 81. Goalkeeper Eddie Hopkinson made his 14th and final international appearance, it was also the end of short-lived England careers for Birmingham City's Trevor Smith and Middlesbrough's Brian Clough (both on 2 caps).

Wed 04/May/1960    Scotland 2 (Law, St John) Poland 3 (Baszkiewicz, Brychzy, Pol)
Friendly at Hampden
BBC SCOTLAND Highlights
*BBC Scotland showed brief highlights at 11:00-11:10pm. STV may also have covered the game, they had a "Scotsport" programme at 10:15-10:45pm. Krzysztof Baszkiewicz put the visitors ahead on 11, John Hewie then missed a penalty on 21 in what proved to be his 19th and final appearance in a Scotland jersey, Denis Law equalised a couple of minutes later on 23 but Lucjan Brychzy restored the Polish lead on 29. Scotland were level again just after the break through Ian St John on 46, but Ernest Pol scored a winning goal for Poland on 60.

Wed 11/May/1960    England 3 (Douglas, Greaves, Haynes) Yugoslavia 3 (Galic 2, Kostic)
Friendly at Wembley
BBC LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*BBC television showed the match live in the afternoon at 2:45-4:45pm, highlights were included on "Sportsview" at 8:30-9:30pm. Peter Swann of Sheffield Wednesday made his debut as England narrowly avoided another Wembley defeat with a late equaliser. Milan Galic had put the visitors ahead on 31, Bryan Douglas levelled before HT on 43. The 2nd half saw England take the lead through Jimmy Greaves on 48 but Milan Galic equalised on 60 and Borivoje Kostic then put Yugoslavia ahead on 80 before Johnny Haynes netted the late equaliser on 89. Ronnie Clayton, who was captain, made his final England appearance with 35 caps.

Sun 15/May/1960    Spain 3 (Martínez 2, Peiro) England 0
Friendly
BBC 2nd half LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*This was the first live Eurovision relay to come from Spain, the BBC showing the 2nd half live at 6:00-6:45pm. England's poor run of form against foreign opponents continued as Eulogio Martínez scored twice with Joaquin Peiro netting inbetween to give Spain a 3-0 victory. Peter Brabrook's played his 3rd and final game for England.

Sun 22/May/1960    Hungary 2 (Albert 2) England 0
Friendly in Budapest
*No TV coverage, though it was possibly shown locally in Hungary (Eurovision  presumably relayed one of the Euro QF's, Radio Times had scheduled live 2nd half coverage from Hungary, but it's not listed in the newspapers). Manchester United's Dennis Violett made his England debut as the home side won with two goals scored by the 19 year old forward Florian Albert.

Sun 29/May/1960    Austria 4 (Hanappi 2, Hof 2) Scotland 1 (Mackay)
Friendly in Vienna
SCOTTISH LIVE
*STV had live coverage from 4:30-6:15pm. The BBC had national coverage, presumably of the closing 20 minutes or so only (George Davidson commentatint) during a sports broadcast at 5:35-6:10pm - this slot also included the Monaco Grand Prix. Gerhard Hanappi scored twice for Austria on 26 and 31, whilst Erich Hof's goal 44 gave the home side a 3-0 HT lead. Hof scored again on 63, Dave Mackay netted a consolation goal for Scotland on 76.

Sun 05/Jun/1960    Hungary 3 (Sandor, Gorocs, Tichy) Scotland 3 (Hunter, Herd, Young)
Friendly in Budapest
BBC 2nd Half LIVE
Ken Wolstenholme
*The BBC had national coverage, presumably of the 2nd half live, at 6:25-7:15pm. Karoly Sandor put the home side ahead on 19, William Hunter, on his debut, equalised on 34. In the 2nd half, George Herd put the Scots ahead on 62, Alex Young made it 3-1 on 66, Janos Gorocs pulled one back on 77 and Lajos Tichy equalised for Hungary in injury time. Graham Leggat won his 18th and final cap.

Wed 08/Jun/1960    Turkey 4 (Oktay, Kucukandonyadus 2, Birol) Scotland 2 (Caldow(pen), Young)
Friendly in Ankara
*There was no television service in Turkey until 1968. Metin Oktay put the Turks ahead on 9, Eric Caldow equalised from the penalty spot on 12, Lefter Kucukandonyadus restored the home side's lead on 33 and later scored again to make it 3-1 on 52, Senol Birol added a 4th goal for Turkey on 63, Alex Young pulled one back for 4-2 on 72. Bobby Evans made his 49th and final international appearance whilst Andrew Weir ended his Scotland career with 6 caps.

The 1960 European Nations Cup Finals

Semi-Finals

Wed 06/Jul/1960    France 4 (Vincent, Heutte 2, Wisnieski) Yugoslavia 5 (Galic, Žanetic, Knez, Jerkovic 2)
(7pm bst)
Paris
*No British TV coverage. Yugoslavia went ahead on 11 through Galic before Vincent equalised immediately on 12 and Heutte then put France ahead just before HT on 43. Wisnieski made it 3-1, Žanetic pulled one back for the Slavs on 55 but Heutte scored again on 62 to restore a two goal lead for the hosts at 4-2, Knez pulled another one back for Yugoslavia on 75 and Jerkovic then scored twice on 78 and 79 to put Yugoslavia in the final.

Wed 06/Jul/1960    Soviet Union 3 (Ivanov 2, Ponedelnik) Czechoslovakia 0
(7:30pm bst)
Marseille
*No British TV coverage. Ivanov scored either side of HT for the Soviets on 34 and 56, Ponedelnik added the third goal on 66.

3rd/4th place play off

Sat 09/Jul/1960    Czechoslovakia 2 (Bubník, Pavlovic) France 0
(5pm bst)
Marseille
*No British TV coverage. 2nd half goals by Bubník on 58 and Pavlovic on 88 meant that the hosts had to settle for 4th place.

The Final

Sun 10/Jul/1960    Soviet Union 2 (Metreveli, Ponedelnik) Yugoslavia 1 (Galic) [AET]
(8:30pm bst)
Paris
BBC 2nd Half & Extra Time LIVE
?Ken Wolstenholme?
*The BBC scheduled live coverage as "European Sporting Event" at 9:30-10:15pm, but it would have overran until approximately 10:50pm. Yugoslavia led at HT through a Galic goal on 43, Metreveli levelled for the Soviet Union on 49 and the match then went into extra time. The Soviet's winner was scored by Ponedelnik on 113.