The association football tournament at the 1956 Summer Olympics was won by the Soviet Union.
Defending champions Hungary were forced to withdraw due to the Soviet invasion of their country. Besides Hungary, the tournament was ignored by Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. In addition to the situation with Hungary, several more countries boycotted the competitions due to the Suez Crisis, while China ignored the tournament due to the IOC recognition of Taiwan.
This was the first Olympic football tournament where all the medalists were communist countries, with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria taking silver and bronze respectively.
Background Following five withdrawals, the tournament featured three Eastern Bloc teams and four from Asia. The other sides included in the draw were the United States, the United Team of Germany (which was de facto West Germany), Great Britain and the hosts Australia, competing in their first Olympic football tournament.
The tendency of Eastern bloc countries to provide state-funding for their athletes put Western amateurs at a significant disadvantage. As a result, all Olympic football tournaments 1952 onwards were dominated by the Soviet Union and its satellites.Fútbol en los Juegos Olímpicos by José M. Martín, 8 August 2021
Venues Melbourne Olympic Park Stadium Melbourne Cricket Ground Capacity: 40,000 Capacity: 104,000
Teams
Qualification
Squads
First round
Hungary announced their withdrawal on 31 August, a day before the draw.Hungarian Eleven not entering, The Guardian, 1 September 1956 The draw was made with fifteen teams, India receiving a bye.It's Britain v Thailand in Olympics, Birmingham Evening Mail, 1 September 1956 Four more teams withdrew after the final draw: China (boycotted the Games to protest the reception of Taiwan), Egypt (withdrew due to Suez Crisis), Turkey and Vietnam.
Therefore, only three games were played in the first round: as China and Turkey had been drawn against each other, their match was scratched.
The Soviet Union defeated the United Team of Germany 2–1, Great Britain defeated Thailand 9–0, and Australia defeated Japan 2–0.
Byes: Bulgaria (drawn against Egypt, who withdrew), India, Indonesia (drawn against Vietnam, who withdrew), USA and Yugoslavia (drawn against each other: match was postponed to the quarter-finals).
Quarter-finals Yugoslavia defeated the United States 9–1.
Bulgaria led Great Britain 3–1 at half-time, when ratings from vaulted the fence and exhorted the team to show more grit, after which they were peacefully escorted off the field. The British team went on to lose 6–1.
The Soviet Union drew their game against Indonesia 0–0 and won 4–0 in the replay.
The Indians defeated Australia 4–2 with a hat trick by centre forward Neville D'Souza, the first by an Asian in the Olympics. Prior to the game there had been debate, once again, as to whether the Indians should be shod. Sir Stanley Rous respected their decision either way, although in the end, the Indians decided to wear boots.
Semi-finals Yugoslavia defeated India 4–1. It would be their third consecutive Olympic final, after losing both in 1948 and 1952.
The Soviets defeated Bulgaria 2–1. Normal time finished 0–0, and Bulgaria scored first in extra time before conceding two goals in the last six minutes of the game.
Bronze medal match Bulgaria took Bronze defeating India 3–0.
Gold medal match
GK Lev Yashin RB Mikhail Ogonkov CB Anatoli Bashashkin LB Boris Kuznetsov RH Anatoli Maslenkin LH Igor Netto OR Boris Tatushin IR Anatoli Isayev CF Nikita Simonyan IL Sergei Salnikov OL Anatoli IlyinManager: Gavriil Kachalin
GK Petar Radenković RB Mladen Koščak LB Nikola Radović RH Ivan Santek CH Ljubiša Spajić LH Dobroslav Krstić OR Dragoslav Šekularac IR Zlatko Papec CF Sava Antić IL Todor Veselinović OL Muhamed MujićManager: Aleksandar Tirnanić
Bracket
Goalscorers
Medalists GoldSilverBronze Lev YashinNikolai TishchenkoMikhail OgonkovAleksei ParamonovAnatoli BashashkinIgor NettoBoris TatushinAnatoli IsayevEduard StreltsovValentin IvanovVladimir RyzhkinBoris KuznetsovIosif BetsaSergei SalnikovBoris RazinskyAnatoli MaslenkinAnatoli IlyinNikita SimonyanYury BelyayevAnatoli Porkhunov Sava AntićIbrahim BiogradlićMladen KoščakDobroslav KrstićLuka LiposinovićMuhamed MujićZlatko PapecPetar RadenkovićNikola RadovićIvan SantekDragoslav ŠekularacLjubiša SpajićTodor VeselinovićBlagoja Vidinić Stefan BozhkovTodor DievGeorgi DimitrovMilcho GoranovIvan Petkov KolevNikola KovachevManol ManolovDimitar MilanovGeorgi NaydenovPanayot PanayotovKiril RakarovGavril StoyanovKrum YanevYordan YosifovPavel VladimirovIliya Kirchev
References
External links
Olympic Football Tournament Melbourne 1956, FIFA.com RSSSF Archive