Spot-on Czechs show England how it is done

As England reflect on yet more penalty woe we look at the EURO's spot-kick masters – the Czech Republic, whose 100% tally began with perhaps the most famous shoot-out of all.

Gary Lineker's famous quote, apocryphal or otherwise, about football being a simple game involving 22 men and a ball and always won at the end by Germany often serves, in English minds at least, as a reminder of their old rivals' enviable record of success when it comes to penalty shoot-outs. As it happens, a look through the UEFA European Championship annals reveals a slightly different picture, starting with West Germany's defeat in perhaps the most famous shoot-out of all.

The pressure heaped on Antonín Panenka seemed prodigious. He was one well-struck kick away from securing the 1976 UEFA European Championship crown for Czechoslovakia, against no lesser opponent than holders West Germany, the reigning world champions. Uli Hoeness's skied penalty had left the shoot-out poised at 4-3 for the Czechs, and so Panenka stepped forward knowing he could seal it.

A hush descended in Belgrade as the 27-year-old placed the ball on the spot and walked back some 15 metres. He stopped, turned, and in a pitter-patter of small steps approached his destiny, shaping as if to send his right-footed effort into the bottom-right corner of the net. Sepp Maier guessed as much, and was on his way to that post as Panenka audaciously chipped a penalty over the goalkeeper and straight down the middle.

It was a memorable end to the first penalty shoot-out at a major tournament and while there have been many since, including at FIFA World Cup finals, perhaps none have bettered it. For the Czechs, it proved a sign of things to come. Four years later, they beat Italy 9-8 in the shoot-out that followed the third-place play-off, Fulvio Collovati missing the decisive penalty. At EURO '96, now playing under the flag of the Czech Republic, they made it a hat-trick with a 6-5 semi-final triumph against France.

The Czechs' record of three wins from three shoot-outs, with 20 penalties converted and none missed, is unmatched. Germany have prevailed on spot kicks five times since 1976 but only once – in the other last-four fixture at EURO '96 against England – at a UEFA European Championship. They, like England, Spain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy need no introduction to both the pleasure and pain of penalties.

Last night England joined the Netherlands as the competition's least successful shoot-out exponents, suffering their third defeat in four attempts. Andrea Pirlo's nerveless chipped effort, all the more impressive considering Italy were trailing at the time following Riccardo Montolivo's miss, bore all the hallmarks of Panenka. Penalties, said Cesare Prandelli, are a "lottery" – some players and teams seem pretty consistent at choosing the winning numbers, though.

Spot-on Czechs show England how it is done