Football at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's European Qualifiers
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24 March 1971 – 31 May 1972 |
| Teams | 22 (from 1 confederation) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 36 |
| Goals scored | 112 (3.11 per match) |
← 1968 1976 → | |
The Men's European Football Qualifiers for the 1972 Summer Olympics consisted of two stages, the first single elimination tournament and then group stage.[1]
First round
Football at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's European Qualifiers – First round
Second round
Qualified teams
The following four teams from Europe qualified for the final tournament.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in the Summer Olympics football tournament1 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Soviet Union |
Group 1 winners | 18 November 1971 | 2 (1952, 1956) |
 East Germany |
Group 3 winners | 26 April 1972 | 1 (1964) |
 Poland |
Group 2 winners | 7 May 1972 | 4 (1924, 1936, 1952, 1960) |
 Denmark |
Group 4 winners | 21 May 1972 | 6 (1908, 1912, 1920, 1948, 1952, 1960) |
- 1 Bold indicates champions for that year. Italic indicates hosts for that year.
- 2 Includes all participations by a competing nation at the Summer Olympics (clubs representing nations, olympic teams, full national teams, etc.).