S.L. Benfica in European football Benfica fell in the second round against Scottish team and eventual finalists Celtic in a coin toss decision. After a mildly successful period in the 1960s, where they stood among the top contenders, Southern European teams started to lose influence in the European stage during the 1970s, as Dutch and German teams appeared stronger. In the 1971–72 European Cup, Benfica lost in the semi-finals to a Johan Cruyff-led Ajax on their way to a second consecutive win. Benfica reached the quarter-finals of the 1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup, before being eliminated by another Dutch team, PSV Eindhoven. Over the course
Belarus national football team in Japan and South Korea, but were defeated by Wales in the last group stage match, missing the chance to overtake Ukraine, who drew their last game, finishing the group second behind Poland. Their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign was very unsuccessful as Belarus lost seven of their eight games. Around the same time, a generational change occurred and a number of players from the U-21 team (which qualified for the 2004 European U-21 Championship) joined the senior national team. With each subsequent head coach (Anatoly Baidachny, Yuri Puntus and Bernd Stange) the team improved their attacking skills. As a result,