Czechoslovakia national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Czechoslovakia

to 1919–1993
Association	Czechoslovak Football Association
Most caps	Zdeněk Nehoda (91)
Top scorer	Antonín Puč (34)
Home stadium	Stadion Evžena Rošického (1926–1993)
FIFA code	TCH
First colours Second colours Third colours
Elo ranking
Highest	1 (24 May 1924)
Lowest	29 (August 1985)
First international
Hungary 2–1 Bohemia  (Budapest, Hungary; 5 April 1903) Post-independence  Czechoslovakia 4–1 Belgium  (Paris, France; 24 June 1919)
Biggest win
Czechoslovakia 7–0 Kingdom of SCS  (Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920)  Czechoslovakia 7–0 Kingdom of SCS  (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 28 October 1925)
Biggest defeat
Hungary 8–3 Czechoslovakia  (Budapest, Hungary; 19 September 1937)  Scotland 5–0 Czechoslovakia  (Glasgow, Scotland; 8 December 1937)  Hungary 5–0 Czechoslovakia  (Hungary; 30 April 1950)  Hungary 5–0 Czechoslovakia  (Hungary; 19 October 1952)  Austria 5–0 Czechoslovakia  (Zürich, Switzerland; 19 June 1954)
World Cup
Appearances	8 (first in 1934)
Best result	Runners-up (1934, 1962)
European Championship
Appearances	3 (first in 1960)
Best result	Champions (1976)
Medal record FIFA World Cup Silver 1934 Italy Team Silver 1962 Chile Team UEFA European Championship Gold 1976 Yugoslavia Team Bronze 1960 France Team Bronze 1980 Italy Team Olympic Games Gold 1980 Moscow Team Silver 1964 Tokyo Team

The Czechoslovakia national football team (Czech: Československá fotbalová reprezentace, Slovak: Česko-slovenské národné futbalové mužstvo) represented Czechoslovakia in men's international football from 1919 to 1993. The team was controlled by the Czechoslovak Football Association, and the team qualified for eight World Cups and three European Championships. It had two runner-up finishes in World Cups, in 1934 and 1962, and won the European Championship in the 1976 tournament.

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 the remainder of this campaign under the name Representation of Czechs and Slovaks (RCS, Czech: Reprezentace Čechů a Slováků, Slovak: Reprezentácia Čechov a Slovákov) before it was disbanded. Both the Czech and Slovak national teams are considered to be the joint successors of the Czechoslovak record.

History

Bohemia

While part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bohemia played its first international on 5 April 1903, a 2–1 loss for Hungary in Budapest. On 7 October, Hungary came to Prague for a 4–4 draw. The two countries played three more matches up to 1908, including Bohemia's only victory on 6 October 1907. Bohemia played its last match on 13 June 1908, losing 4–0 at home to England.

After being expelled from FIFA due to objections from the Austrian Football Association, the ČSF founded the UIAFA along with French USFSA and English Amateur Football Association in March 1909. Bohemia won the UIAFA Great European football tournament in 1911, defeating the AFA England team 2–1 in the final.

Inter-war

After World War I, an independent Czechoslovakia made its first appearance in 1919 in the Inter-Allied Games in Paris, a large sports competition organized in celebration of the Allied victory in the War. However, the matches of the tournament are not included in the official FIFA register. Czechoslovakia topped their group with three wins over Belgium, United States, and Canada, thus reaching the final, where they defeated the hosts France with a dramatic 3–2 win, thanks to two late goals from Antonín Janda.

In the following year, Czechoslovakia participated in the 1920 Olympic event in Antwerp, opening with a 7–0 win over Yugoslavia on 28 August. This squad, which had thirteen players from the Inter-Allied roster, then beat Norway 4–0 the next day in the quarter-finals and France 4–1 in the semi-finals on the 31st. However, in the final against Belgium on 2 September, the Czechoslovaks left the field 2–0 down after 40 minutes in protest with the English referee John Lewis, and were ejected from the tournament. Czechoslovakia returned for the 1924 Olympics in Paris and defeated Turkey 5–2 in the first round, but was eliminated in the second 1–0 against Switzerland in a replay after a 1–1 draw.

The nation entered the World Cup for the first time in 1934, and won its qualifier against Poland after its neighbor withdrew following a 2–1 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 2–1 to the host country after extra time. Oldřich Nejedlý won the Golden Shoe with five goals in the tournament.

Czechoslovakia qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup in France with a 7–1 aggregate victory over Bulgaria, and reached the quarter-finals with a 3–0 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 2–1.

In 1939, under the German occupation name of "Bohemia", the team played three matches, defeating Yugoslavia 7–3 and drawing with both Ostmark (occupied Austria) and Germany itself.

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.

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 1–0 defeat to Northern Ireland in Halmstad, followed by a 2–2 draw with reigning champions West Germany and a 6–1 win over Argentina. On 17 June, Czechoslovakia lost a play-off to advance into the knockout stages 2–1 to Northern Ireland in Malmö.

Modern age

On 5 April 1959, Czechoslovakia played the first ever qualifying match in a UEFA European Championship, losing 2–0 away to the Republic of Ireland but eventually advancing 4–2 on aggregate. Subsequent victories over Denmark (7–3 aggregate) and Romania (5–0 aggregate) put the country into the four-team finals in France. It lost 3–0 to the Soviet Union in the semi-final but gained third place with a 2–0 win over the hosts at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.

Czechoslovakia qualified for the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile by defeating Scotland 4–2 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 1–0 win over Spain from a Jozef Štibrányi goal, and then drew 0–0 with holders Brazil. In the last group game on 7 June, Václav Mašek put Czechoslovakia ahead against Mexico in 12 seconds; the team lost 3–1 but advanced nonetheless.

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 3–1. Masopust's inspiration was awarded with the 1962 Ballon d'Or.

Czechoslovakia v Santos FC friendly match in Chile, 1965

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 4–1 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.

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 4–2 in a play-off. In the semi-final in Zagreb, they advanced after beating the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time. In the final on 20 June at Crvena Zvezda Stadium in Belgrade, Czechoslovakia led 2–0 before the game went to penalties at a 2–2 draw. Antonin Panenka scored the winning penalty with a chip, subsequently referred to by his name when executed by other players. In that squad, 16 of 22 players in the squad were Slovak and in both matches in the final tournament, 9 of 13 players were Slovak.

Czechoslovakia playing C.A. Belgrano during their tour on Argentina in 1979

Czechoslovakia did not qualify for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, as Scotland won their group. 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. At the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, Czechoslovakia was eliminated in the group stage after draws with Kuwait and France and losing 2–0 to England. The country's last major tournament was the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where in the group it opened with a 5–1 win over the United States before defeating Austria with a Michal Bilek penalty, enough to advance despite losing 2–0 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 4–1 in over Costa Rica. Czechoslovakia was eliminated on 1 July in a quarter-final at the San Siro, losing 1–0 from a Lothar Matthäus penalty against eventual winners West Germany. Later that month, manager Jozef Venglos who had led Czechoslovakia in the tournament was appointed as the first foreign manager in English football, at Aston Villa. Czechoslovakia (RCS) played their last qualifier for the USA 1994 FIFA World Cup in the no longer existing common republic, where they played their last match on 17 November 1993 against Belgium in Brussels. Since the game was for direct advancement from the group stage, after a goalless draw RCS did not advance. The RCS top scorer with six goals was Peter Dubovský, who scored a hat trick in the match against Romania in Všešportový areál on 2 June 1993.

Kit history

1934–1976

1950–1967 (away)

1980–1989

1990 Home

1990 Away

1992–93 Away

Coaching history

Results and fixtures (1908–1993)

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	—
1930	Did not enter										Declined invitation
1934	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	0	1	9	6	Squad		1	1	0	0	2	1	1934
1938	Quarter-finals	5th	3	1	1	1	5	3	Squad		2	1	1	0	7	1	1938
1950	Did not enter										Did not enter
1954	Group stage	14th	2	0	0	2	0	7	Squad		4	3	1	0	5	1	1954
1958	Group stage	9th	4	1	1	2	9	6	Squad		4	3	0	1	9	3	1958
1962	Runners-up	2nd	6	3	1	2	7	7	Squad		5	4	0	1	20	7	1962
1966	Did not qualify										6	3	1	2	12	4	1966
1970	Group stage	15th	3	0	0	3	2	7	Squad		7	5	1	1	16	7	1970
1974	Did not qualify										4	2	1	1	9	3	1974
1978											4	2	0	2	4	6	1978
1982	Group stage	19th	3	0	2	1	2	4	Squad		8	4	2	2	15	6	1982
1986	Did not qualify										8	3	2	3	11	12	1986
1990	Quarter-finals	6th	5	3	0	2	10	5	Squad		8	5	2	1	13	3	1990
1994	Did not qualify										10	4	5	1	21	9	1994
Total	Runners-up	8/15	30	11	5	14	44	45	—		71	40	16	15	144	63	—

UEFA European Championship

UEFA European Championship record											Qualifying record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	—
1960	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	2	3	Squad		6	4	1	1	16	5	1960
1964	Did not qualify										2	0	1	1	2	3	1964
1968											6	3	1	2	8	4	1968
1972											6	4	1	1	11	4	1972
1976	Champions	1st	2	1	1	0	5	3	Squad		8	5	2	1	19	7	1976
1980	Third place	3rd	4	1	2	1	5	4	Squad		6	5	0	1	17	4	1980
1984	Did not qualify										8	3	4	1	15	7	1984
1988											6	2	3	1	7	5	1988
1992											8	5	0	3	12	9	1992
Total	1 Title	3/9	8	3	3	2	12	10	—		56	31	13	12	107	48	—

Olympic Games

Olympic Games record
Year	Result	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad
1908	Withdrew
1912	Did not enter
1920	Disqualified		4	3	0	1	15	3	Squad
1924	Second round	9th	3	1	1	1	6	4	Squad
1928	Did not enter
1936
1948
1952
1956
1960	Did not qualify
1964	Silver medal	2nd	6	5	0	1	19	5	Squad
1968	Group stage	9th	3	1	1	1	10	3	Squad
1972	Did not enter
1976
1980	Gold medal	1st	6	4	2	0	10	1	Squad
1984	Withdrew
1988	Did not qualify
Total	1 Gold medal	5/17	22	14	4	4	60	16	—

Player records

Zdeněk Nehoda

Antonín Puč

Head to head record (1908–1993)

Opponent	P	W	D	L
Albania	5	3	0	2
Argentina	6	1	3	2
Australia	8	6	2	0
Austria	37	18	11	8
Belgium	10	5	2	3
Brazil	17	2	6	9
Bulgaria	14	4	3	7
Chile	1	0	0	1
Costa Rica	1	1	0	0
Cyprus	6	4	2	0
Denmark	14	9	5	0
East Germany	15	4	4	7
Egypt	3	1	0	2
England	13	2	3	8
Faroe Islands	2	2	0	0
Finland	5	2	2	1
France	20	9	4	7
Germany	18	3	5	10
Greece	5	5	0	0
Hungary	44	11	12	21
Iceland	5	4	1	0
Iran	1	1	0	0
Italy	26	8	9	9
Kuwait	1	0	1	0
Latvia	1	1	0	0
Luxembourg	7	6	1	0
Malaysia	1	0	0	1
Malta	2	1	1	0
Mexico	2	1	0	1
Netherlands	8	5	1	2
Northern Ireland	2	0	0	2
Norway	4	4	0	0
Poland	19	10	5	4
Portugal	9	3	3	3
Republic of Ireland	12	7	1	4
Romania	29	17	7	5
Scotland	10	4	1	5
Soviet Union	12	2	4	6
Spain	12	7	1	4
Sweden	16	9	4	3
Switzerland	27	14	6	7
Turkey	10	7	2	1
United States	1	1	0	0
Uruguay	3	1	0	2
Wales	12	6	3	3
Yugoslavia	31	18	4	9

Honours

Major competitions

• FIFA World Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1934, 1962
• UEFA European Championship
  • Champions (1): 1976
  • Third place (2): 1960, 1980
• Olympic Games
  • Gold medal (1): 1980
  • Silver medal (1): 1964

Regional

• Central European International Cup
  • Champions (1): 1955–60
  • Runners-up (2): 1927–30, 1948–53

Other titles

• Interallied Games
  • Champions (1): 1919

Summary

Competition	1	2	3	Total
World Cup	0	2	0	2
European Championship	1	0	2	3
Olympic Games	1	1	0	2
Total	2	3	2	7

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol de Checoslovaquia para niños

• Czechoslovakia national under-21 football team
• Czechoslovakia women's national football team
• Czech Republic national football team
• Slovakia national football team