UEFA Euro 1976
European football competition
The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA and the only tournament that was held in a socialist state. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976.
Only four countries played in the final tournament, with the tournament consisting of the semi-finals, a third place play-off, and the final. This was the last tournament to have this format, as the tournament was expanded to include eight teams four years later. It was the only time that all four matches in the final tournament were decided after extra time, either on penalties or by goals scored. This was also the last tournament in which the hosts had to qualify for the final stage.
Czechoslovakia won the tournament after defeating holders West Germany in the final on penalties following a 2-2 draw after extra time. Antonín Panenka gained fame for his delicately chipped penalty, which has since been named after him, to win the penalty shootout and Czechoslovakia's only European Championship title.
01Qualification
The qualifying round was played in 1974, 1975 (group phase), and 1976 (quarter-finals). There were eight qualifying groups of four teams each, with matches played on a home-and-away basis. The group winners qualified for the quarter-finals, played in two legs, home and away. The winners of the quarter-finals would go through to the final tournament.
This was the first time the Soviet Union failed to qualify for the finals.
02Quarterfinals
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yugoslavia | 3-1 | Wales | 2-0 | 1-1 |
| Spain | 1-3 | West Germany | 1-1 | 0-2 |
| Czechoslovakia | 4-2 | Soviet Union | 2-0 | 2-2 |
| Netherlands | 7-1 | Belgium | 5-0 | 2-1 |
Qualified teams
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czechoslovakia | Quarter-final winner | 22 May 1976 | 1 (1960) |
| Netherlands | Quarter-final winner | 22 May 1976 | 0 (debut) |
| West Germany | Quarter-final winner | 22 May 1976 | 1 (1972) |
| Yugoslavia (host) | Quarter-final winner | 22 May 1976 | 2 (1960, 1968) |
03Venues
| Belgrade | Zagreb | |
|---|---|---|
| Red Star Stadium | Stadion Maksimir | |
| Capacity: 90,000 | Capacity: 55,000 | |
04Match officials
| Country | Referee |
|---|---|
| Belgium | Alfred Delcourt |
| Italy | Sergio Gonella |
| Switzerland | Walter Hungerbühler |
| Wales | Clive Thomas |
05Final tournament
At the final tournament, extra time and a penalty shoot-out were used to decide the winner if necessary.
All times are local, CET (UTC+1).
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 16 June, Zagreb | ||||||
| Czechoslovakia (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||
| 20 June, Belgrade | ||||||
| Netherlands | 1 | |||||
| Czechoslovakia (p) | 2 (5) | |||||
| 17 June, Belgrade | ||||||
| West Germany | 2 (3) | |||||
| Yugoslavia | 2 | |||||
| West Germany (a.e.t.) | 4 | |||||
| Third place play-off | ||||||
| 19 June, Zagreb | ||||||
| Netherlands (a.e.t.) | 3 | |||||
| Yugoslavia | 2 | |||||
Semi-finals
16 June 1976 (1976-06-16) 20:15 Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb Attendance: 17,879 Referee: Clive Thomas (Wales) 17 June 1976 (1976-06-17) 20:15 Red Star Stadium, Belgrade Attendance: 50,652 Referee: Alfred Delcourt (Belgium)Third place play-off
19 June 1976 (1976-06-19) 20:15| Netherlands | 3-2 (a.e.t.) | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Final
20 June 1976 (1976-06-20) 20:15| Czechoslovakia | 2-2 (a.e.t.) | West Germany |
|---|---|---|
| Report Positions |
|
|
| Penalties | ||
| 5-3 | ||
06Statistics
Goalscorers
There were 19 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match.
4 goals
2 goals
1 goal
- Karol Dobiaš
- Zdeněk Nehoda
- Anton Ondruš
- Ján Švehlík
- František Veselý
- Willy van de Kerkhof
- Heinz Flohe
- Bernd Hölzenbein
- Josip Katalinski
- Danilo Popivoda
1 own goal
- Anton Ondruš (against Netherlands)
Awards
- UEFA Team of the Tournament
| Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ivo Viktor | Anton Ondruš Ján Pivarník Ruud Krol Franz Beckenbauer |
Antonín Panenka Jaroslav Pollák Rainer Bonhof Dragan Džajić |
Zdeněk Nehoda Dieter Müller |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “UEFA Euro 1976”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- UEFA Euro 1976 logo.svg by Unknown author, Fair use
- Euro 1976.png by Parutakupiu, CC BY-SA 3.0
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