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1976 UEFA European Football Championship

Europsko prvenstvo u nogometu Jugoslavija 1976. (in Croatian) Европско првенство во фудбал Jугославиjа 1976 (in Macedonian) Европско првенство у фудбалу Jугославиjа 1976 (in Serbian) Evropsko prvenstvo v nogometu Jugoslavija 1976 (in Slovene)
Tournament details
Host country	Yugoslavia
Dates	16–20 June
Teams	4
Venue(s)	2 (in 2 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Czechoslovakia (1st title)
Runners-up	West Germany
Third place	Netherlands
Fourth place	Yugoslavia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	4
Goals scored	19 (4.75 per match)
Attendance	106,087 (26,522 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Dieter Müller (4 goals)
← 1972 1980 →

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 first and 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.

Qualification

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.

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)

1. Bold indicates champion for that year.

Venues

BelgradeZagreb	Belgrade	Zagreb
	Red Star Stadium	Stadion Maksimir
	Capacity: 90,000	Capacity: 55,000

Squads

Match officials

Country	Referee
Belgium	Alfred Delcourt
Italy	Sergio Gonella
Switzerland	Walter Hungerbühler
Wales	Clive Thomas

Final 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

Czechoslovakia	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Netherlands
Ondruš 19' Nehoda 114' Veselý 118'	Report	Ondruš 73' (o.g.)

Yugoslavia	2–4 (a.e.t.)	West Germany
Popivoda 19' Džajić 30'	Report	Flohe 64' Müller 82', 115', 119'

Third place play-off

Netherlands	3–2 (a.e.t.)	Yugoslavia
Geels 27', 107' W. van de Kerkhof 39'	Report	Katalinski 43' Džajić 82'

Final

Czechoslovakia	2–2 (a.e.t.)	West Germany
Švehlík 8' Dobiaš 25'	Report Positions	Müller 28' Hölzenbein 89'
Penalties
Masný Nehoda Ondruš Jurkemik Panenka	5–3	Bonhof Flohe Bongartz Hoeneß

Statistics

Goalscorers

There were 19 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match.

4 goals

• Dieter Müller

2 goals

• Ruud Geels
• Dragan Džajić

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

References

1. Smallwood, Jimmy (12 May 2012). "Euro 1976: The year the Welsh Dragon roared again". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
2. Kier 2018, pp. 396–399.
3. "1976 team of the tournament". UEFA.com. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2015.

Bibliography

• Kier, Richard (2018). The European Championship – A Complete History (Part 1: 1960–1976). Rowanvale Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-9115-6967-1.

External links

• UEFA Euro 1976 at UEFA.com

• UEFA Euro 1976
• UEFA European Championship tournaments
• 1975–76 in European football
• 1975–76 in Yugoslav football
• International association football competitions hosted by Yugoslavia
• June 1976 sports events in Europe
• International sports competitions in Belgrade
• Sports competitions in Zagreb
• 1970s in Belgrade
• 1970s in Zagreb