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. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976.
| 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 → | |
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 finalonpenalties 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.[1]
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.
| Team | Qualified as | Qualified on | Previous appearances in tournament[A] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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) |
 |
Belgrade | Zagreb |
|---|---|---|
| Red Star Stadium | Stadion Maksimir | |
| Capacity: 90,000 | Capacity: 55,000 | |
|
|
| Country | Referee |
|---|---|
 Belgium
|
Alfred Delcourt |
 Italy
|
Sergio Gonella |
 Switzerland
|
Walter Hungerbühler |
 Wales
|
Clive Thomas |
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).
| 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 | ||||
| Czechoslovakia | 3–1 (a.e.t.) | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
 114' 118' |
Report |
Attendance: 17,879
Referee: Clive Thomas (Wales)
| Yugoslavia | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | West Germany |
|---|---|---|
30' |
Report |
82', 115', 119' |
Attendance: 50,652
Referee: Alfred Delcourt (Belgium)
| Netherlands | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Yugoslavia |
|---|---|---|
39' |
Report |
82' |
Attendance: 6,766
Referee: Walter Hungerbühler (Switzerland)
| Czechoslovakia | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | West Germany |
|---|---|---|
25' |
Report Positions[2] |
89' |
| Penalties | ||
 |
5–3 |
Flohe Bongartz Hoeneß |
Attendance: 30,790
Referee: Sergio Gonella (Italy)
There were 19 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match.
4 goals
2 goals
Dragan Džajić1 goal
Zdeněk Nehoda Anton Ondruš Ján Švehlík František Veselý Willy van de Kerkhof Heinz Flohe Bernd Hölzenbein Josip Katalinski Danilo Popivoda1 own goal
Anton Ondruš (against Netherlands)| 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
|
