The teams of West Germany, Soviet Union, Argentina and Sweden competed against one another at Olympic Stadium, West Berlin from 31 March to 2 April 1988, with Sweden the tournament winners.

West Germany had been elected host country of the 1988 European Football Championship finals, but because of the ongoing division of Germany, UEFA decided against using West Berlin as a venue for any of the matches at the finals.

The DFB, led by Hermann Neuberger, accepted and thus West Germany secured the right to host the Championship.

In the event of a draw after 90 minutes, there was no extra time but an immediate penalty shootout.

[1] Although the tournament included exciting teams and world-class players, like Argentina with Claudio Caniggia and Diego Maradona, as well as European Championship favorites the USSR (with star players Oleh Protasov and Rinat Dasayev), it didn't catch the public's imagination.