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)
The1976 UEFA European Football Championship tournament was held inYugoslavia. This was the fifthUEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed byUEFA and the only tournament that was held in asocialist state. The final tournament took place between 16 and 20 June 1976.
Only four countries played in the final tournament, with the tournament consisting of the semi-finals, athird 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.
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.
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