Olympic Football Tournament 1956

IX Olympic Football Tournament (Melbourne 1956)

(From 24-11-1956 to 8-12-1956)

Olympic Poster

Olympic Logo

PARTICIPANTS (16)

· Host nation: Australia.

· 3 bye nations: Germany (unified team of FRG and GDR), Great Britain (late replacement for the original bye Poland), Turkey.

· 12 teams qualified after a Pan-Continental Pre-Olympic Tournament: Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Japan, Soviet Union, Thailand, USA, Vietnam, Yugoslavia.

COMPETITION SYSTEM

· The sixteen participating teams are paired in a first knock-out round (two of them are given a bye in this round, in view of the many withdrawals before the tournament). The winners advance to quarterfinals and further semifinals. The two surviving teams after this last elimination round qualify for the final, whereas the two semifinal losers play a consolation final for the bronze medal.

::::: QUALIFYING STAGE :::::

FIRST ROUND (24-11-1956)
Soviet Union - Germany	2-1	Melbourne
Great Britain - Thailand	9-0 (x)	Melbourne
Australia - Japan	2-0 (y)	Melbourne
Bulgaria - China	(w.o.) (*)	Melbourne
Indonesia - Egypt	(w.o.) (*)	Melbourne
India - Turkey	(w.o.) (*)	Melbourne
Vietnam - Hungary	(**)	Melbourne
BYES: Yugoslavia, USA.
* China, Egypt and Turkey withdrew before the competition. ** Vietnam and Hungary were both scratched due to political conflicts in these two countries (inner turmoil in Vietnam and the Soviet invasion of Hungary). (x) Game played on 26-11-1956.　(y) Game played on 27-11-1956.

1/4 FINALS (28-11-1956)
Yugoslavia - USA	9-1 (*)	Melbourne
Soviet Union - Indonesia	0-0 (a.e.t.) (x)	Melbourne
Bulgaria - Great Britain	6-1 (y)	Melbourne
Australia - India	2-4 (z)	Melbourne
TIE-BREAK (1-12-1956)
Soviet Union - Indonesia	4-0	Melbourne
* This match, originally drew in the First Round, was rescheduled for 1/4 Finals due to the many withdrawals above. (x) Game played on 29-11-1956.　(y) Game played on 30-11-1956.　(z) Game played on 1-12-1956.

1/2 FINALS (4-12-1956)
Yugoslavia - India	4-1	Melbourne
Soviet Union - Bulgaria	2-1 (a.e.t.) (x)	Melbourne
(x) Game played on 5-12-1956.

PLACES 3 & 4

(7-12-1956)

Bulgaria - India

3-0

Melbourne

FINAL

STADIUM: Melbourne Cricket Ground (Melbourne)

DATE: 8-12-1956 (14:45 h)

ATTENDANCE: 86.716

REFEREE: Ron Wright (AUS)

GOALS: 1-0 (Il’in 48’)

[Incidents: Although the official attendance was 86.716 spectators, the actual number of fans in the stadium was estimated in 105,000. The closing ceremony of the Olympic Games followed after the medal presentation at the end of the game.]

Soviet Union - Yugoslavia

1-0 (0-0)

Soviet Union (coach: Gavriil Kachalin)

Lev Yashin

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Anatolij Bashashkin

Mikhail Ogon’kov

Boris Kuznetsov

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Igor’ Netto (c)

Anatolij Masljonkin

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Boris Tatushin

Anatolij Isaev

Nikita Simonjan

Sergej Sal’nikov

Anatolij Il’in

Yugoslavia (coach: Milovan Ćirić)

Petar Radenković

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Mladen Koščak

Nikola Radović

Ivan Šantek

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Ljubomir Spajić (c)

Dobroslav Krstić

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Dragoslav Šekularac

Zlatko Papec

Sava Antić

Todor Veselinović

Muhamed Mujić

FINAL STANDING
1.	Soviet Union
2.	Yugoslavia
3.	Bulgaria
4.	India
5.	Great Britain
6.	Australia
7.	Indonesia
8.	USA
9.	Germany
10.	Japan
11.	Thailand