The European Football Association (UEFA) has made a historic change to the list of winners of continental championships. After years of discussions and consultations in Nyon, it was decided to name not only the Czech Republic but also the Slovakia national team as the winner of the 1976 tournament.
This conclusion can be drawn from the updated data on the official UEFA website. Previously, the winners of Euro 1976 included only the Czech Republic, which was the successor to Czechoslovakia, who defeated the German team in the tournament final in a penalty shootout.
In Belgrade, the Germans managed to come back from a score of 0:2, but lost in the penalty shootout. The main event of the series, undoubtedly, was the goal by Czechoslovak midfielder Antonín Panenka, who lifted the ball from the "spot" over the goalkeeper, giving this shot its name.
After the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the former was recognized as the European Champion, but on September 12, this decision was revised. It is important to note that there were more Slovaks among the winners than Czechs (seven to six).
It is worth mentioning that in 1996, the Czech Republic national team reached the final of the continental championship, losing to the same Germany by the golden goal rule in overtime.
