1984 at a glance

With holders and 1982 FIFA World Cup finalists West Germany strongly tipped to clinch their third UEFA European Championship crown and the side they beat in 1980, Belgium, widely feared, spirited showings from Denmark, Portugal and Spain made this the most exciting tournament yet. It meant hosts France required something extra special to win their first major international honour. Fortunately for the hosts, they had Michel Platini.

Teams
Winners: France
Runners-up: Spain
Semi-finals: Portugal, Denmark
Group stage: Belgium, Yugoslavia, West Germany, Romania

Top scorers: Michel Platini (France) – 9

Did you know?
France are the only team to have won every game at a single finals (discounting penalty shoot-outs) since the introduction of the group stage in 1980.

Also in 1984
European Champion Clubs' Cup winners: Liverpool FC (1-1 aet, 4-2 pens, v AS Roma)

European Footballer of the Year: Michel Platini (Juventus)

Eurovision Song Contest winner: Herreys (Sweden) singing Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley

European Golden Boot winner: Ian Rush (Liverpool FC)

Nobel Peace Prize winner: Desmond Tutu (anti-apartheid campaigner, South Africa)

Men's Olympic 100m champion: Carl Lewis (United States) running 9.99 seconds

Formula 1 world champion: Niki Lauda (Austria) driving a McLaren

Oscar for best picture: Amadeus

Key events
14 February – Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are crowned Olympic ice skating champions at the winter games in Sarajevo after recording a perfect score

8 May – The Soviet Union announces decision to pull out of the forthcoming Olympic Games in Los Angeles

31 October – Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, is assassinated in New Delhi