In front of 51,608 supporters, Spain were 4–0 ahead inside the first twenty minutes of the match, with two goals from Vicente Guillot and one each from José Luis Veloso and Enrique Collar.

Andy McEvoy reduced the deficit for the Republic of Ireland midway through the first half, but Amancio restored the two-goal lead on 30 minutes after he scored from Marcelino's cross.

[17] Three minutes later, Marcelino himself scored from close range, and after McEvoy was withdrawn through injury leaving the Republic of Ireland with ten players, Spain dominated the second half.

Spain dominated possession and though Alan Kelly made several saves, debutant Pedro Zaballa scored in both halves: a header from Carlos Lapetra's cross midway through the first half was followed by a strike from 10 yards (9 m) with three minutes of the match remaining.

In the 35th minute, Luis Suárez crossed the ball for Chus Pereda who headed it into the top corner with Hungary's goalkeeper Antal Szentmihályi static, to give the host nation the lead.

Midway through the first half, Viktor Ponedelnik gave the Soviet Union the lead, and three minutes before half-time, Igor Chislenko scored to make it 2–0.

Failing to capitalise on other chances to score, the Soviet Union conceded the equalising goal with two minutes of the match remaining when Kurt Hamrin struck the ball past Yashin to secure a 1–1 draw.

[25][26] The sides met two weeks later at the Central Lenin Stadium in front of almost 100,000 spectators and Yashin received the 1963 Ballon d'Or award on the pitch before the match.

[29] Denmark had enforced an "amateur-only" policy to their side which meant that Erik Sørensen, Kai Johansen and Harald Nielsen were no longer available having signed professional contracts, while Jens Petersen and John Madsen were also otherwise engaged.

The Soviet Union dominated the early stages, Voronin opening the scoring midway through the first half from a corner before Ponedelnik beat Leif Nielsen in the Denmark goal with a strike five minutes before half-time.

Late in the second half, Ivanov beat three Denmark defenders before scoring his side's third, and the Soviet Union won 3–0 to progress to their second consecutive European Nations' Cup final.

[32] Before the match, Francisco Franco led future king of Spain Juan Carlos I onto the pitch while Yashin met his childhood hero Ricardo Zamora prior to kick-off.

The Soviet Union had won the pre-match coin toss and as such were playing in their usual red-and-white kit while Spain wore dark blue shirts.

In the sixth minute, Suárez dispossessed Ivanov, took the ball past Eduard Mudrik and, after making a one-two with Lapetra, crossed for Pereda who scored to give Spain a 1–0 lead.

Two minutes later, Viktor Anichkin passed to Galimzyan Khusainov down the left side of the pitch, and his weak shot was mishandled by the Spain goalkeeper Iribar to allow the equaliser.

Despite the two early goals, the remainder of the half saw both sides competing in the midfield with several misplaced passes and fouls, although Yashin saved shots from both Pereda and Fusté before Iribar kept Chislenko's attempt out.

With six minutes of the match remaining, Feliciano Rivilla passed to Pereda who first beat Anichkin and then sent in a cross, which Viktor Shustikov was unable to clear, allowing Marcelino a header for the winning goal inside the near post.

[2] Beskov was dismissed upon his return to Moscow following a meeting with Nikita Khrushchev who had been "incensed" that images of celebrating Franco had been broadcast live in the Soviet Union.

[36] Villalonga was dismissed from his post two years later after suffering defeats against West Germany and Argentina during Spain's failure to progress past the group stage of the 1966 FIFA World Cup.