© „LaPresse“
Football lottery called 11-meter penalties in the European Championships have been present since 1976. Until that time, tied matches were decided by a coin toss (1968 Italy and Soviet Union semi-final match) and by a replay (1968 Italy and Yugoslavia final match). The first meeting of the Old Continent's championship, which ended with 11 penalties, was the 1976 final between Czechoslovakia and West Germany, where the Czech Antonin Panenka showed his mastery. This was the first and only final match that required such a series. Which teams competed the most in the 11-meter penalty shootout? Italy - 5 times, England, the Netherlands, Spain - 4 times each, Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, West Germany/Germany, Portugal - 3 times each, Denmark, France, Poland - 2 times each, Croatia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey - 1 time each. The most successful teams in the shootouts: Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, Spain - 3 wins, Germany, Italy, Portugal - 2 wins, Denmark, England, France, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey - 1 win. The worst-performing teams in the shootout: England, Italy, the Netherlands - 3 losses, Croatia, Denmark, France, West Germany/Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland - 1 loss. The Czechs and Turks are the only ones who have not yet experienced losses in the 11-meter penalty shootout. Furthermore, Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic has so far scored all 20 penalties. The longest series took place in 1980 (the Czechs defeated the Italians 9-8) and 2016 (the Germans triumphed over the Italians 6-5), which required a total of 18 shots, the shortest in 2008, when only 7 shots were taken (Croatia - Turkey, 1:3). The goalkeepers who attempted their luck the most in the "lottery" were Gianluigi Buffon and Edwin van der Sar - 3 times each, Iker Casillas, Lukasz Fabianski, Bernard Lama, Rui Patricio, David Seaman - 1 time each. When is it most likely to see a 11-meter penalty shootout? In the quarter-finals: 12.5% probability, In the quarter-finals - 37.5%, In the semi-finals - 21%, In the match for 3rd place (when played) - 17%, In the final: 7%.
