The 1968 tournament changed dramatically from it's previous format. It was renamed the European Football Championships and although only 4 teams still took part in the finals, the knock-out qualifying was replaced by group matches. The hosts were not decided until after it was known which 4 teams had qualified. There were 8 groups with the winners of each group going through.

If you think penalties are an unfair way to decide a game, spare a thought for USSR who lost their semi final to Italy on the toss of a coin.