Euro 1988 in West Germany
Euro '88, held in West Germany, were the eighth European Championships and saw the Netherlands take out their first and only title to date. It was held over two weeks from June 10th to June 25th. Eight teams competed in the competition, including West Germany, guaranteed qualification for hosting the tournament. The competition used the 8 team format that had been in use since Euro '80 in Italy. The seven teams other than West Germany that qualified were (in alphabetical order) Denmark, England, Italy, Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and the USSR. The reigning champions, France, failed to qualify and it was Ireland's first appearance in European Championships. West Germany and Italy finished 1 and 2 respectively in Group A, with Spain and Denmark rounding out the group. In Group B it was Netherlands and the USSR who progressed, leaving England and Ireland to be eliminated. Highlights of the group stage included a Marco van Basten hat trick in Netherlands' 3-1 victory over England and the match between Denmark and Spain, which produced 5 goals.
UEFA Euro 1988 Knockout Stages
The first semi final saw West Germany play Netherlands at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg in what was to prove to be a hugely exciting game. Both sides battled the first half out, going into the half-time break as they started. After returning from the dressing rooms, West Germany's Lothar Matthäus kicked the game into life again, scoring in the 55th minute. Ronald Koeman equalised in the 74th and the game looked to be heading for extra time when Marco van Basten put the ball in the back of the net in the 88th, in what would prove to be one of the most important goals of his career.
In the other semi final, USSR faced Italy at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart. It didn’t live up to the excitement of the first semi, and although they switched ends with the score still at 0-0, USSR scored two minutes either side of the hour-mark with goals from Gennadiy Litovchenko and Oleg Protasov, and cruised into the final to face Netherlands.
1988 UEFA European Championships Final USSR vs Holland
Includes Marco Van Basten's wonder strike
The final was held in front on more than 70,000 fans at the Olympiastadion in Munich, with the Dutch searching for their first European Championship, and the USSR looking for their second, their first coming in 1960 in France. The game opened with a sprightly pace and Netherlands’ persistence was rewarded with a Ruud Gullit header in the 32nd minute. Half time came and went and Netherlands removed some doubt with tournament top scorer Marco van Basten (5 goals) scoring a blinding volley in the 54th. The lead proved too much for USSR to combat, Netherlands winning their first European Championship.
