Euro Cup 1976 was the fifth edition of the European Championships. Hosted by Yugoslavia, the tournament was played in accordance to the 1972 format. The Euro 1976 started from the semifinal stage with 4 teams divided in two separate groups.
A total of 32 teams competed in the qualifying round with four countries qualifying for the final phase. Apart from the reigning champions West Germany and host Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Netherlands were the other two teams to play the finals.
The Euro Cup 1976 created history when all the four matches ended in extra time and for the first time, the final was decided by penalty shootout. The eventual champion, Czechoslovakia defeated West Germany 5-3, via tiebreaker after the two teams ended in a 2-2 deadlock.
The cities of Belgrade and Zagreb hosted two matches each. The final was played in Belgrade's Crvena Zvezda Stadium in front of more than 50,000 spectators. Dieter Muller of West Germany emerged as the highest scorer of the tournament with 4 goals.
The 1976 tournament produced more goals than the '72 edition. A total of 19 goals were scored with an average of 4.75. The Euro 76 was the last edition to follow the old format of the championships.
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