Czechoslovakia national football team

Czechoslovakia
Association Czechoslovak Football Association
Most caps Zdeněk Nehoda (90)
Top scorer Antonín Puč (34)
Home stadium Various
FIFA code TCH
First colours
Second colours
Elo ranking
Highest 1 (May 24, 1924)
Lowest 29 (August 1985)
First international
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia 7–0 Yugoslavia 
(Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920)
Last International
 Belgium 0–0 RCS Czechoslovakia
(Brussels, Belgium; 17 November 1993)
Biggest win
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia 11–0 Senegal 
( Praha, Czechoslovakia; 2 November 1966)
Biggest defeat
 Hungary 8–3 Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia
(Budapest, Hungary; 19 September 1937)
World Cup
Appearances 8 (First in 1934)
Best result Runners-up, 1934 and 1962
European Championship
Appearances 3 (First in 1960)
Best result Winners, 1976
Olympic medal record
Men's Football
1980 Moscow Team
1964 Tokyo Team

The Czechoslovakia national football team (Czech: Československá fotbalová reprezentace, Slovak: Československé národné futbalové mužstvo) was the national association football team of Czechoslovakia from 1920 to 1992. At the time of the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the team was participating in UEFA qualifying Group 4 for the 1994 World Cup; it completed this campaign under the name Representation of Czechs and Slovaks (RCS). The Czech Republic national football team is recognized as the successor of the Czechoslovakia team.[1][2]

The Czechoslovakia team was controlled by the Czechoslovak Football Association, and qualified for eight World Cups and three European Championships. The team had two runner-up finishes in World Cups (1934, 1962) and a European Championship win in 1976.

History

Bohemia

While part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bohemia played its first international on 1 April 1906, a 11 draw with Hungary in Budapest. On 7 October, Hungary came to Prague for a 44 draw. The two countries played three more matches up to 1908 including Bohemia's only victory and Bohemia played its last match on 13 June 1908, losing 40 at home to England.[3]

Inter-war

After World War I, an independent Czechoslovakia entered its football team for the 1920 Olympic event in Antwerp, opening with a 70 win over Yugoslavia on 28 August. They then beat Norway 40 the next day in the quarter-finals and France 41 in the semi-finals on the 31st. However, in the final against Belgium on 2 September, the Czechoslovaks left the field 20 down after 40 minutes in protest with the English referee John Lewis, and were not given a medal.[4]

Czechoslovakia returned for the 1924 Olympics in Paris and defeated Turkey 52 in the first round, but were eliminated in the second 10 against Switzerland in a replay after a 11 draw.[3]

The nation entered the World Cup for the first time in 1934, and won its qualifier against Poland after its neighbour withdrew following a 21 Czechoslovak win in the first leg. At the finals in Italy, Czechoslovakia advanced past Romania, Switzerland and Germany to reach the final, where it lost 21 to the host country after extra time. Oldřich Nejedlý won the Golden Shoe with five goals in the tournament.[5]

Czechoslovakia qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France with a 71 aggregate victory over Bulgaria, and reached the quarter-finals with a 30 win over the Netherlands in Le Havre. In the quarter-final against Brazil, known as the Battle of Bordeaux for its rough play, Czechoslovakia lost the replay 21.[6]

In 1939, under the German occupation name of "Bohemia", the team played three matches, defeating Yugoslavia 73 and drawing with both Ostmark (occupied Austria) and Germany itself.[3]

Post-World War II

Josef Masopust won the Ballon d'Or for his performance in the Czechoslovakia side which reached the 1962 FIFA World Cup Final

After an absence from the 1950 qualification campaign, Czechoslovakia qualified for 1954 by topping its qualifying group unbeaten against Bulgaria and Romania with three wins and a draw. However, in the finals in Switzerland, it was eliminated from a strong group after defeats to Uruguay and Austria.[3]

It also topped its qualifying group for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, ahead of Wales and East Germany. They opened their finals campaign on 8 June with a 10 defeat to Northern Ireland in Halmstad, followed by a 22 draw with reigning champions West Germany and a 61 win over Argentina. On 17 June, Czechoslovakia lost a play-off to advance into the knockout stages 21 to Northern Ireland in Malmö.[3]

On 5 April 1959, Czechoslovakia played the first ever qualifying match in a UEFA European Championship, losing 20 away to the Republic of Ireland but eventually advancing 42 on aggregate. Subsequent victories over Denmark (73 aggregate) and Romania (50 aggregate) put the country into the four-team finals in France. It lost 30 to the Soviet Union in the semi-final but gained third place with a 20 win over the hosts at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.[7]

Czechoslovakia qualified for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile by defeating Scotland 42 after extra time in a play-off in Brussels, Belgium, after finishing level in their qualifying group. In the group at the finals, Czechoslovakia opened with a 10 win over Spain from a Jozef Štibrányi goal, and then drew 00 with holders Brazil. In the last group game on 7 June, Václav Mašek put Czechoslovakia ahead against Mexico in 12 seconds; the team lost 31 but advanced nonetheless.[8]

After goalkeeper Viliam Schrojf's performance, a goal from Adolf Scherer in Rancagua was enough to beat Hungary in the quarter-final, and two more late goals by him against Yugoslavia put Czechoslovakia into their second World Cup final. In the final at the Estadio Nacional de Chile in Santiago, Josef Masopust put Czechoslovakia ahead after 15 minutes by finishing Scherer's pass, but Brazil soon equalised and exploited Schrojf's errors to win 31. Masopust's inspiration was awarded with the 1962 Ballon d'Or.[9]

Czechoslovakia did not go to the 1966 FIFA World Cup, with Portugal topping their qualifying group, nor did they qualify for the European Championships of 1964 and 1968. On 3 December 1969 they defeated Hungary 41 in Marseille in a play-off to reach the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, having finished joint top of their qualifying group. Czechoslovakia lost all three of their matches in the 1970 World Cup, in a group featuring holders England and eventual winners Brazil.[3]

After missing out on the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup, Czechoslovakia reached the 1976 European Championship in Yugoslavia, topping a group featuring England, Portugal and Cyprus and then defeating the Soviet Union 42 in a play-off. In the semi-final in Zagreb, they advanced after beating the Netherlands 31 after extra time. In the final on 20 June at Crvena Zvezda Stadium in Belgrade, Czechoslovakia led 20 before the game went to penalties at a 22 draw. Antonin Panenka scored the winning penalty with a chip,[10] subsequently referred to by his name when executed by other players.[11]

Czechoslovakia did not qualify for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, as Scotland won their group.[12] The country did qualify for Euro 1980, and by coming second in its group behind West Germany faced the hosts Italy in a third-place play-off, which it won on sudden-death penalties at the Stadio San Paolo in Naples.[13] At the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, Czechoslovakia was eliminated in the group stage after draws with Kuwait and France and losing 20 to England. The country's last ever major tournament was the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where in the group it opened with a 51 win over the United States before defeating Austria with a Michal Bilek penalty, enough to advance despite losing 20 to the hosts at the Stadio Olimpico. In the last 16 at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari, a hat-trick from Tomáš Skuhravý featured in a 41 in over Costa Rica. Czechoslovakia was eliminated on 1 July in a quarter-final at the San Siro, losing 10 from a Lothar Matthäus penalty against eventual winners West Germany. Later that month, manager Dr Jozef Venglos who had led Czechoslovakia in the tournament was appointed as the first foreign manager in English football, at Aston Villa.[14]

Kit history

1934-1976
1950-1967 (away)
1980-1989
1990 Home
1990 Away

FIFA World Cup record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third Place       Fourth Place  

Year Round Position Pld Won Drawn* Lost GF GA
Uruguay 1930Did Not Enter-------
Italy 1934Runners-up2nd430196
France 1938Quarter-Finals5th311153
Brazil 1950Did Not Enter-------
Switzerland 1954Round 114th200207
Sweden 19589th411296
Chile 1962Runners-up2nd631277
England 1966Did Not Qualify-------
Mexico 1970Group Stage15th300327
West Germany 1974 Did Not Qualify-------
Argentina 1978-------
Spain 1982Round 119th302124
Mexico 1986Did Not Qualify-------
Italy 1990Quarter-Finals6th5302105
United States 1994Did Not Qualify-------
Total8/152 Finals30115144445

European Championship record

     Champions       Runners-up       Third Place       Fourth Place  

Year Round Pld Won Drawn* Lost GF GA
France 1960Third place210123
Spain 1964Did Not Qualify------
Italy 1968------
Belgium 1972------
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1976Champions211053
Italy 1980Third place412154
France 1984Did Not Qualify------
West Germany 1988------
Sweden 1992------
Total3/983321210

Player records

Most capped players

# Player Czechoslovakia career Caps Goals
1. Zdeněk Nehoda 1971–1987 90 31
2. Marián Masný 1974–1982 75 18
Ladislav Novák 1952–1966 75 1
4. František Plánička 1926–1938 73 0
5. Karol Dobiaš 1967–1980 67 6
6. Josef Masopust 1954–1966 63 10
Ivo Viktor 1966–1977 63 0
8. Ján Popluhár 1958–1967 62 1
9. Antonín Puč 1926–1938 60 34
10. Antonín Panenka 1973–1982 59 17

Top goalscorers

# Player Czechoslovakia career Goals Caps
1. Antonín Puč 1926–1938 34 60
2. Zdeněk Nehoda 1971–1987 31 90
3. Oldřich Nejedlý 1931–1938 28 43
Josef Silný 1925–1934 28 50
5. Adolf Scherer 1958–1964 22 36
František Svoboda 1927–1937 22 43
7. Marián Masný 1974–1982 18 75
8. Antonín Panenka 1973–1982 17 59
9. Jozef Adamec 1960–1971 14 44
Tomáš Skuhravý 1985–1993 14 43

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Czechoslovakia national football team.

References

  1. "Member Association – Czech Republic". FIFA.com. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  2. "UEFA EURO 2016 – Czech Republic profile". UEFA.com. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Czech Republic national football team". European Football. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  4. Murray, Scott (20 July 2012). "The Joy of Six: Olympic football tournament stories". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  5. "Delight for the Azzurri as home advantage tells". FIFA. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  6. "World Cup History - On this day: Battle of Bordeaux". Eurosport. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  7. Rostance, Tom (21 May 2012). "Euro 1960: Lev Yashin leads Soviets to glory in France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  8. "The 11 fastest goals in World Cup history". Eurosport. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  9. "Brazil flying high with 'Little Bird' Garrincha". FIFA. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  10. "Panenka reflects on perfect penalty at EURO '76". UEFA. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  11. Pascoe, Thomas (25 June 2012). "Euro 2012: The best and worst 'Panenka' penalties". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  12. "World Cup 1978 Qualifying". RSSSF. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  13. "UEFA Euro 1980 matches". UEFA. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  14. Kendrick, Mat (7 September 2010). "Feature: How Dr Josef Venglos was a pioneer at Aston Villa". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
Preceded by
1972 West Germany 
European Champions
1976 (First title)
Succeeded by
1980 West Germany 
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