The 1964 European Nations’ Cup was the second edition of the UEFA European Championship. The final tournament was held in Spain. It was won by the hosts 2–1 over the defending champions, the Soviet Union. The tournament was a knockout competition; 29 teams entered. The Soviet Union, Austria and Luxembourg received byes to the round of 16. The teams played home-and-away matches until the semi-finals; the final four teams would move on to the final tournament, whose host was selected after the teams became known. Luxembourg proved to be the giant-killers of the qualifying rounds; they beat the Netherlands 3–2 on aggregate, and then drew with Denmark 3–3 and 2–2, before losing the replay 1–0. Denmark thus became the most surprising of the qualifiers for the final tournament, joining the Soviet Union, Spain, and Hungary. In the semi-finals, the Soviet Union defeated the Danes 3–0 in Barcelona and Spain beat Hungary 2–1 in extra time in Madrid, the winning goal being scored by Amancio.