History: Spain gain home comforts

Spain combined home advantage and spirited teamwork to win their only major trophy in 1964 — the European Nations’ Cup. As in the inauguaral edition, the format remained the same, with a qualifying competition followed by a four-team final tournament, but the the number of entrants rose from 17 to 29, with Italy and England among the hopefuls this time.

England fell 6-3 on aggregate to France. In an echo of the diplomatic wrangling from 1960, Greece objected to facing Albania, with whom they were officially at war, and the tie was awarded to their opponents.

Denmark edged Luxemberg to enter the semis where they were joined by Hungary, Spain and holders the USSR. The USSR beat Denmark 3-0 and Spain required an extra-time winner from to defeat Hungary 2-1. Spain claimed the trophy with a 2-1 win over the USSR in final.