UEFA Euro 1976 Final

The UEFA Euro 1976 Final was the final match of UEFA Euro 1976, the fifth UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA's top football competition for national teams. The match was played at Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, on 20 June 1976. The match was contested by Czechoslovakia and West Germany. In German, the match is known as the Nacht von Belgrad, or Night from Belgrade.

UEFA Euro 1976 Final

The Red Star Stadium held the final
Event	UEFA Euro 1976
Czechoslovakia West Germany 2 2
After extra time Czechoslovakia won 5–3 on penalties
Date	20 June 1976 (1976-06-20)
Venue	Red Star Stadium, Belgrade
Referee	Sergio Gonella (Italy)[1]
Attendance	30,790[1]

After extra time, the result was 2–2, and so the first penalty shoot-out in a European Championships final ensued. Originally, a replay would have been played two days later, but before the match both teams were informed that, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out would be used instead.[2] The first seven kicks were converted, until West Germany's fourth penalty taker, Uli Hoeneß, ballooned his shot over the bar. With the score 4–3, Antonín Panenka stepped up under immense pressure to take the fifth Czechoslovakian penalty, to win the match. German goalkeeper Sepp Maier dived to his left, while Panenka chipped the ball straight in the middle of the net.[3] The sheer cheek of the goal led a watching French journalist to dub Panenka "a poet", and to this day his winning kick is one of the most famous ever, making Panenka's name synonymous with that particular style of penalty kick.