There were some notable absences, including West Germany, Italy, Netherlands and England, each of whom had voted against the creation of the tournament in 1957.

In the quarter-finals, Spain, who were under Francoist rule, refused to travel to the Soviet Union for political reasons.

After a proposal to play the tie over one leg at a neutral venue were rejected by the Soviets,[2][3] Spain were disqualified: accordingly, three of the final four teams were from communist countries: the USSR, Czechoslovakia, and SFR Yugoslavia, to go with hosts France.

The other match saw a nine-goal thriller as Yugoslavia came on top 5–4 after coming back from a two-goal deficit twice.

In the final, Yugoslavia scored first, but the Soviet Union, led by legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin, equalised in the 49th minute.