Football at the 1956 Summer Olympics – Men's European Qualifiers
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 8 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 4 |
| Goals scored | 16 (4 per match) |
The Men's European Football Qualifiers for the 1956 Summer Olympics were the first qualification tournament for the European football teams.[1]
Beside the hosting Australian team, the International Olympic Committee reserved direct spots for 3 European teams including Poland, Turkey and West Germany. In addition, it provided 4 more spots which were contested among 8 teams including the reigning Olympic champions Hungary.
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulgaria 
|
5–3 |  Great Britain
|
2–0 | 3–3 |
Yugoslavia 
|
w/o1 |  Romania
|
— | — |
Hungary 
|
w/o2 |  East Germany
|
— | — |
Soviet Union 
|
7–1 |  Israel
|
5–0 | 2–1 |
1 Romania withdrew.
2 As East and West Germany agreed to compete together at the 1956 Olympics, East Germany withdrew. However, after an agreement for a combined football team fell through, a solely West German one was fielded.
| 23 October 1955 1956 Olympics – Qualifying | Bulgaria  | 2–0 | Great Britain | Sofia, Bulgaria |
Stefanov  30'Yanev 61' |
Report | Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Giorgio Bernardi (Italy) |
| 12 May 1956 1956 Olympics – Qualifying | Great Britain | 3–3 (3–5 agg.) | Bulgaria | London, UK |
| Hardisty 12', 62' Lewis 77' (pen.) |
Report | Milanov 28' Prince 32' (o.g.)Dimitrov 66' |
Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Giorgio Bernardi (Italy) |
- Note: Britain lost 5–3 on aggregate, but earned a reprieve to compete in Melbourne[2]
Both Bulgaria and Great Britain advanced.
| Soviet Union | 5–0 | Israel |
|---|---|---|
| Tatushin 2' Ivanov 26', 71'Simonyan 45', 78' |
Report (ru) |
| Israel | 1–2 | Soviet Union |
|---|---|---|
| Stelmach 64' |
Report (ru) | Tatushin 59' Ilyin 79' |
Soviet Union advanced.
References
- ^ Games of the XX. Olympiad. RSSSF.
- ^ How Britain's footballers earned a reprieve to compete in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics Archived 9 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine Inside the Games, 1 July 2012; Retrieved 12 August 2012
- ^ Francesco Liverani profile