The 1980 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was the sixth European Championships held in Italy between 11 and 22 June 1980. This was the first tournament to feature eight teams. West Germany defeated Belgium 2-1 in ther final at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome claiming their second title.
- 1. Host selection
- 2. Qualifying
- 3. Wales and the 1980 European Championship
- 4. Wales players used during qualifying
With the tournament expanded to eight teams, UEFA decided to choose a host in advance. On 17 October 1977 UEFA announced that England, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and West Germany had expressed interest in hosting the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship.
UEFA's Organizing Committee decided to put England and Italy forward as hosts and on 12 November 1977 UEFA's Executive Committee announced that Italy had been chosen unanimously.
Thirty one of UEFA's 34 members entered the qualification tournament for the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship. Albania and Liechtenstein did not enter with Italy qualifying automatically as hosts.
The teams were drawn into three groups of five teams and four groups of four teams. The group winners would qualify for the tournament proper.
Wales were drawn in Group 7 alongside West Germany, Turkey and Malta. This was the first time Wales had played Turkey and Malta.
Uefa qualifying group 7
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 344 | 25/10/1978 | Wales 7-0 Malta | O'Sullivan, Edwards (4), M Thomas, Flynn | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | ECQ |
| 345 | 29/11/1978 | Wales 1-0 Turkey | Deacy | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | ECQ |
| 25/02/1979 | Malta 0-0 West Germany | Empire Stadium, Gżira | EC | ||
| 18/03/1979 | Turkey 2-1 Malta | İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu, İzmir | EC | ||
| 01/04/1979 | Turkey 0-0 West Germany | İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu, İzmir | EC | ||
| 346 | 02/05/1979 | Wales 0-2 West Germany | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham | ECQ | |
| 350 | 02/06/1979 | Malta 0-2 Wales | Nicholas, Flynn | Empire Stadium, Gżira | ECQ |
| 352 | 17/10/1979 | West Germany 5-1 Wales | Curtis | Müngersdorfer Stadion, Köln | ECQ |
| 28/10/1979 | Malta 1-2 Turkey | Empire Stadium, Gżira | EC | ||
| 353 | 21/11/1979 | Turkey 1-0 Wales | İzmir Atatürk Stadyumu, İzmir | ECQ | |
| 22/12/1979 | West Germany 2-0 Turkey | Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen | EC | ||
| 27/02/1980 | West Germany 8-0 Malta | Weserstadion, Bremen | EC |
Group standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts1 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | West Germany | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 10 |
| 2. | Turkey | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
| 3. | Wales | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 6 |
| 4. | Malta | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 21 | 1 |
Wales and the 1980 European Championship
Wales were drawn in Group 7 alongside West Germany, Turkey and Malta. This was the first time Wales had played Turkey and Malta.
The campaign got off to a thumping start as Wales thrashed Malta 7-0 at The Racecourse in the first ever meeting between both sides. It was Wales' biggest winning margin since beating Ireland 11-0 in 1888 and Ian Evans became only the fourth player to score four goals in a match and the first Welshman to score an international hat-trick since Cliff Jones in 1963.
A 1-0 win over Turkey saw Wales top the group with a 100% record and in buoyant mood when West Germany, the group favourites, could only manage two goalless draws in their opening matches in Malta and Turkey.
However West Germany were too strong for Wales and secured their first victory of the campaign at The Racecourse.
A 2-0 win in Malta kept Welsh hopes alive and top of the group as they headed to face West Germany in Köln.
However Wales were humilated in Germany, losing 5-1 with Alan Curtis' late goal the only consolation in a match which saw John Toshack win the last of his 40 caps for Wales.
Defeat to Turkey in İzmir extinguished Wales' faint hopes of qualification but the match was overshadowed by Byron Stevenson's red card after he allegedly fractured opponent Mustafa Denizli's cheekbone. Stevenson was handed a four-and-a-half year European Championship ban.
Players used during qualifying
Wales used 23 players during the campaign with Dai Davies and Leighton Phillips playing every minute of every game during the campaign whilst Mickey Thomas played some part of every game.
Robbie James made his debut in the opening match of the campaign against Malta.
Byron Stevenson became the second Welshman to be sent off in an international match after he received a red card for allegedly fracturing opponent Mustafa Denizli's cheekbone in the final match of the campaign in Turkey. Stevenson was handed a four-and-a-half year European Championship ban.
| Player | MAL | TUR | FRG | MAL | FRG | TUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Berry | 90 | 75 | 90 | |||
| Les Cartwright | 14 | |||||
| Alan Curtis | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||
| Dai Davies | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Gordon Davies | 71 | |||||
| Nick Deacy | 90 | |||||
| Phil Dwyer | 90 | 1 | 90 | |||
| Ian Edwards | 90 | 59 | 25 | |||
| Carl Harris | 90 | 90 | 90 | 65 | ||
| Brian Flynn | 90 | 90 | 89 | 90 | ||
| Leighton James | 90 | |||||
| Robbie James | 90 | 17 | 90 | 90 | ||
| Joey Jones | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 15 | 90 |
| John Mahoney | 90 | 90 | 90 | 19 | ||
| Peter Nicholas | 90 | 90 | 90 | |||
| Peter O'Sullivan | 76 | |||||
| Malcolm Page | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Leighton Phillips | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 |
| Byron Stevenson | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 70  | |
| Mickey Thomas | 90 | 90 | 90 | 25 | 26 | 90 |
| John Toshack | 31 | 90 | 64 | |||
| Ian Walsh | 65 | |||||
| Terry Yorath | 90 | 73 | 90 |
12 pts for a win / 1 pt for a draw
