Penalty Heartbreak: The best sides to lose by penalties in the European Championships

West Germany (Euro 1976)

Germany fell to Czechoslovakia in the final of Euro 1976.

The European Championships back in 1976 had a very different format to the ones we’re used to now. At the time, only four countries could play the final tournament, which meant that there were only the semi-finals, the final and the third-place match. There was qualification, of course, with eight qualifying groups of four teams each.

Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and West Germany would make the final tournament with the latter two playing the final in Belgrade. A penalty shootout was required to decide the final for the first time after the match finished 2-2. Uli Hoeness missed his penalty and Antonin Panenka would step up and score a penalty with a softly chipped shot in the middle of the goal that would never be forgotten.