Euro 1984 in France
UEFA Euro 1984 was hosted by France. In this tournament, a total of 8 teams participated, seven of which qualified from the qualifying stage, joining the French team which qualified automatically for hosting the tournament, which was held between the 12th June and the 27th June. The teams were divided into two groups of 4 teams each. Teams had to play each other once. The point system was different from today. A win was worth 2 points while a draw meant 1 point. Qualification for the final match was also amended from previous tournaments. The team ranking top of the group had to play the runner up of the other group. No third-place playoff was played in this tournament.
Group A consisted of Yugoslavia, Belgium, Denmark and France. The French delighted their home supporters by registering three wins out of three games, scoring nine goals and conceding only two. Thus, the French topped Group A. They were followed by Denmark which won two games and lost once (against France). Group B consisted of holders West Germany, Portugal, Romania and Spain. Both Spain and Portugal earned the same number of points (4 points), winning one game and drawing twice. They also had the same goal difference. The ranking was therefore decided on the goals scored. Spain scored 3 goals while the Portuguese scored 2. Spain ranked first, while the Portuguese occupied the runner-up position.
UEFA Euro 1984 Knockout Stages
In the first semi-final, the winner of Group A had to face the runner-up of Group B, France and Portugal respectively. The match was played in the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on the 23rd June. Until the 90th minute, the game was level at 1-1. Extra time was needed to decide the match. In extra time, Portugal opened the scoring first in the 98th minute, with Rui Jordao scoring his second personal goal on the day. France equalised in the 114th through Domergue, who also scored his second personal goal in this match. The winning goal came just one minute from the final whistle (119th). The goal scorer was current UEFA President Michel Platini. Thus, France qualified for the Final.
In the second semi-final, held in the Stade de Gerland in Lyon, the winners of Group B Spain had to battle with Group A runners-up Denmark. The game was played on the 24th June. Denmark scored first through Soren Lerby in the seventh minute, while Spain equalised in the 67th through Antonio Maceda. Extra time was not enough to decide this match, and a penalty shootout was required to decide who would make it to the final. Spain scored all their five penalties, while Denmark missed only their last penalty. This meant that Spain joined France in the Final match of Euro 1984.
1984 UEFA European Championships Final
The final was played on the 27th June in the Parc des Princes in Paris, with 47,368 fans in attendance. France scored first in the 57th minute, through Michel Platini and Bruno Bellone scored another one for the French in the 90th minute. The final score was 2-0 for France, meaning that France were crowned champions at home, going unbeaten in the competition all the way to the Final, the first time that France won the European Championship.
