It was in this year that the tournament changed its name from the European Nations' Cup to the European Championship. There were also some changes in the tournament's qualifying structure, with the two-legged home-and-away knock-out stage being replaced by a group phase. Only four countries played in the final tournament. There were semi-finals, the final and a third place match. The hosts were only announced after the qualifying round, which meant that they had to qualify along with all the others for the final stage.