Major Finals & Matches Borussia Dortmund Have Hosted
Both UEFA and FIFA have strict criteria when it comes to the standard required of football grounds that host major finals and big matches in their competitions.
For the biggest games, the likes of Wembley will be used, whereas for slightly smaller ones the organising bodies will listen to bids from slightly lesser stadiums in order to take the pressure off the most impressive ones around.
The Westfalenstadion has long been considered in that second tier of football grounds, capable of hosting some decent games over the years. The question is, which matches has it played host to?
World Cup 1974
The Westfalenstadion, which is known as Signal Iduna Park nowadays because of a sponsorship agreement, was built in order to be a host venue for the 1974 World Cup. Originally, Cologne was supposed to be the host city, but it was forced to withdraw its plans and Dortmund was chosen as its replacement.
The result was that the funding that had originally set aside for Cologne was moved to the new location, where budgetary concerns meant that the original plans had to be discarded in favour of a cheaper option that had enough room for 54,000 supporters to attend.
#OnThisDay in 1974, Westfalenstadion Dortmund, #Netherlands v #Sweden Group 3.
#JohanCruyff and #BoLarsson before the match which ended in a goalless draw.
#Worldcup1974 #1974worldcup— Old Football Photos (@ofp11.bsky.social) Jul 19, 2025 at 21:14
Borussia Dortmund moved into their new home stadium on the second of April 1974, being the only team that played its games in the 2. Bundesliga to host World Cup matches in a brand new home ground. The first match to be played in it in the FIFA tournament saw Scotland win 2-0 against Zaire in a Group 2 match, which was followed by two Group 3 matchers.
The first was a 0-0 draw between the Netherlands and Sweden, whilst the second was a 4-1 win for the Netherlands against Bulgaria. The Netherlands also featured in the final group game, beating Brazil 2-0.
World Cup 2006
Fast forward 32 years and Germany was again playing host to the FIFA World Cup. Once again, the home of Borussia Dortmund was chosen as one of the venues used for the matches, including two games of the host nation. The first match took place on the tenth of June 2006 and played witness to a 0-0 draw between Trinidad and Tobago and Sweden in a Group B game.
Four days later and Germany played there for the first time, defeating Poland 1-0 in a Group A match. Five days after that and Group G team Togo lost 2-0 to Switzerland, then Japan lost 4-1 to Brazil in Group F.
On the 27th of June, the Westfalenstadion was used to host a World Cup knockout match for the first time. Brazil took on Ghana, winning 3-0 in their round of 16 game to make it through to the quarter-finals. On the fourth of July, the host nation was back in the home of Borussia Dortmund as Germany took on Italy in the World Cup semi-final.
In spite of the vociferous nature of the home crowd, it was the Italian team that emerged as victors thanks to a 2-0 win. That proved to be the first time ever that Germany had lost a match in the football ground, putting Italy into the final.
European Championship 2024
Supporters of the England national team might well remember Signal Iduna Park with fondness, thanks to the fact that the Three Lions played one of their matches there en route to the final of the Euros in 2024. The first game of the tournament played at the ground was on the 15th of June 2024 when Italy defeated Albania 2-1 in a Group B matchup.
There then followed two successive matches for Turkey in Group F, beating Georgia 3-1 before losing 3-0 to Portugal. One more group game was played in the stadium, this time a 1-1 draw between France and Poland in Group D.
The Dutch have turned Dortmund Oranje. 🧡
Up to 80,000 Netherlands fans are expected in the city, which is fewer than 60 miles from the Dutch border, & are working on turning Wednesday’s Euro 2024 semifinal into a home game. 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/jFohmmx65r
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) July 10, 2024
The football ground then welcomed the knockout stages of the competition. Those that wanted to see Germany do well might have had a tinge of concern on the back of the national team’s defeat in the stadium 18 years earlier, but they need not have worried. Put up against Denmark in the round of 16 on the 29th of June, the host nation ran out as 2-0 winners.
It was on the tenth of July that England arrived at the Westfalenstadion, taking on the Netherlands in the semi-final. The Dutch, of course, had played three games there in 1974, but lost 2-1 to England this time.
UEFA Cup Final 1993
The Westfalenstadion does not meet UEFA’s requirements to be a host ground for the Champions League final, but it has long been good enough to be used for UEFA Cup finals. Prior to 1997, the UEFA Cup, as it was known then before being rebranded to become the Europa League, saw the final split into two legs.
The first-leg was played at the home of one of the finalists, then the second-leg took place at the home of the other. Borussia Dortmund had made it to the final at the end of the 1992-1993 season, needing to take on Italian giants Juventus in order to lift the trophy.
It was the first-leg that was played in Germany, seeing 37,000 people turn up in order to watch their team attempt to emerge from the game with an advantage to take to Italy for the second-leg of the final. Instead, it was Juventus that emerged successful, ignoring the partisan nature of the home crowd in order to win the game 3-1.
There was a small degree of hope attacked to the result because of that solitary goal that Der BVB scored, but any hope that they could stage some sort of miraculous comeback in Turin ended in disappointment when Juventus won 3-0 on the night, 6-1 overall.
UEFA Cup Final 2001
There is an argument to be made that the Westfalenstadion has rarely played host to a game as crazy as the 2001 UEFA Cup final. English team Liverpool had made it to the final where they were due to play Spanish minnows Alavés, having each made it through six knockout games to get there.
For Liverpool, it was the first European final that the side had reached since the tragic events of the Heysel Stadium Disaster in 1985, as well as being an opportunity to complete a unique treble; the Reds had already won the League Cup and the FA Cup prior to this final.
There were just over 48,000 people in attendance as Markus Babbel gave Gérard Houllier’s side the lead after just three minutes. Steven Gerrard doubled the advantage 13 minutes later, before Iván Alonso pulled one back for the Spaniards in the 26th minute. It looked like game over when Gary McAllister scored a penalty in the 40th minute, then a quick double from Javi Moreno straight after half-time made it 3-3. Robbie Fowler restored Liverpool’s advantage in the 72nd minute, with Jordi Cruyff equalising with two minutes of normal time remaining.
Queue extra-time, where an own goal from Delfí Geli handed the Merseyside team the win thanks to the Golden Goal rule that was in place for that tournament. It was the only time that a major final was won by Golden Goal, with the rule abolished a year later.
