Spain then reached a low point in its history where they failed to qualify for the 1968, 1972 and 1976 European Championships in Italy, Belgium and Yugoslavia respectively, and they also failed to qualify for the 1970 and 1974 World Cup tournaments in Mexico and West Germany respectively. This reflected the turbulent time in Spain's general history; the fascist government led by Franco was nearing the end of its reign, which effectively happened in 1975.