The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was was the ninth European Championships and was held in Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. Denmark defeated Germany 2-0 in the final at Ullevi, Gothenburg claiming their first title.
Denmark qualified for the finals only after after Yugoslavia were disqualified as a result of United Nations sanctions following the breakup of the country and the ensuing war.
- 1. Host selection
- 2. Qualifying
- 3. Wales and the 1988 European Championship
- 4. Wales players used during qualifying
Sweden were confirmed as hosts of the ninth European Championship finals beating the challenge of Spain at a meeting of UEFA's organising committee in Zurich on 16 December 1988.
Thirty four UEFA members entered the qualification tournament for the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship with Sweden qualifying automatically as hosts. San Marino and Faroe Islands entered the competition for the first time.
The teams were drawn into six groups of five teams and one group of four teams. The group winners would qualify for the tournament proper.
Wales were drawn in Group 5 alongside West Germany, Belgium, East Germany and Luxembourg, but following the draw East Germany withdrew following the reunification of Germany with the unified team taking over West Germany's fixtures meaning Group 5 also became a four team group.
Uefa qualifying group 5
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | match type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 426 | 17/10/1990 | Wales 3-1 Belgium | Rush, Saunders, M Hughes | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 31/10/1990 | Luxembourg 2-3 Germany | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg | ECQ | ||
| 427 | 14/11/1990 | Luxembourg 0-1 Wales | Rush | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg | ECQ |
| 27/02/1991 | Belgium 3-0 Luxembourg | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels | ECQ | ||
| 429 | 27/03/1991 | Belgium 1-1 Wales | Saunders | Stade Constant Vanden Stock, Brussels | ECQ |
| 01/05/1991 | Germany 1-0 Belgium | Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover | ECQ | ||
| 432 | 05/06/1991 | Wales 1-0 Germany | Rush | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 11/09/1991 | Luxembourg 0-2 Belgium | Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg | ECQ | ||
| 434 | 16/10/1991 | Germany 4-1 Wales | Bodin | Frankenstadion, Nuremburg | ECQ |
| 435 | 13/11/1991 | Wales 1-0 Luxembourg | Bodin | Arms Park, Cardiff | ECQ |
| 20/11/1991 | Belgium 0-1 Germany | Constant Vanden Stock Stadium, Brussels | ECQ | ||
| 18/12/1991 | Germany 4-0 Luxembourg | Ulrich Haberland Stadium, Leverkusen | ECQ |
Group standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Germany | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 10 |
| 2. | Wales | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 9 |
| 3. | Belgium | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| 4. | Luxembourg | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
Wales and the 1992 European Championship
Wales were drawn in Group 5 alongside West Germany, Belgium, East Germany and Luxembourg, but following the draw East Germany withdrew following the reunification of Germany with the unified team taking over West Germany's fixtures meaning Group 5 also became a four team group.
The first match of the group saw Belgium visit the National Stadium which the FAW had leased from the Welsh Rugby Union for Wales' home matches in the campaign.
Despite going 0-1 down, Wales were by far the better team and goals from Ian Rush, Dean Saunders and MArk Hughes secured teo points for Terry Yorath's team.
Clayton Blackmore became just the fourth player to be sent off whilst playing for Wales in the 1-0 away win over Luxembourg before a 1-1 draw away to Belgium kept Wales top of Group 5.
Germany beat Belgium in Hanover in May to come within a point of Wales ahead of the two teams' meeting in Cardiff in June.
Ian Rush, latching on to an inch perfect lonf ball from Paul Bodin, scored the oly goal of the game in front of a capacity crowd at The National Stadium to put Wales in the driving seat at the top of the group.
A win in the return match in Nuremberg would have been enough to see Wales qualify for the finals in Sweden but an understrength Wales were punished by a rampant German side who ran out 4-1 winners.
Wales ended their campaign with a hard fought win over Luxembourg meaning Yorath's side finished with 9 points.
Wales were left hoping that Germany, who had a superior goal difference, would drop points in their remaining two matches.
German striker, Rudi Völler, scored the only goal of the game in Belgium to leave Germany needing only a draw against Luxembourg in their final game to overhaul Wales' lead at the top of Group 5.
