Will Your Euros Football Predictor Picks Go Out on Penalties?

Penalty shoot-outs are the dread of all England football fans, and who can blame them. England hold the record for the most penalty shoot-out losses at the Euros, crashing out to spot kicks in 1996, 2004, 2012 and 2020. In fact, their performance in these nail-biting encounters has become so legendary that the National Theatre even created a play about them, called Dear England.

So what are the chances that your Euros football predictor picks will go out on penalties this year? Let’s take a look at the history of the penalty shoot-out and how the different teams have performed in the past.

When did penalty shoot-outs start?

Penalty shoot-outs were introduced in the 1976 tournament. Before that, games that were level after 90 mins went to extra time, and if they were still level after 120 mins, they were either decided by a replay or a coin toss. Italy won their semi-final in 1968 on the toss of a coin, and they went on to win the final after a replay.

The new system arrived just in time, as West Germany fought back from 2-0 down after 25 mins to draw 2-2 with Czechoslovakia after extra time in the 1976 final. Unfortunately, they went on to lose the ensuing penalty shoot-out 5-3 after West Germany’s Hoeness shot over the bar.

Penalty shoot-out records

As we said earlier, England hold the record for the most penalty shoot-out losses, although they have won once. They have a similar track record at the World Cup, where they have won just one of four penalty shoot-outs. Between the two tournaments, England have just a 22% success rate.

If you have Italy as one of your Euros football predictor picks, you have a much better chance. They have been involved in a record seven penalty deciders and have won four of them (57%). If Spain are one of your Euros football predictor picks you have an even better chance, with their history of four wins from six (67%), while Czechoslovakia / Czechia have a 100% record from their three shoot-outs scoring from every deciding spot kick they’ve taken in the tournament.

Overall, your Euros football predictor team is most likely to face a penalty shoot-out in the quarter finals, with 36% of games so far decided this way at that stage. For the semis, this drops to 23% and the final has just a 12.5% chance of being decided from the penalty spot.

Will it be heartbreak for England again?

The heartbreaking thing for England fans is the way that their penalty shoot-outs tend to come right at the end of the tournament. Having beaten Spain in the 1996 quarter finals, in what was to be their only penalty shoot-out win, they then lost the semi-final on penalties to Germany 6-5. 

In 2004, England lost to Portugal by the same shoot-out score in the quarter finals, and in 2012 they sank even lower, going out to Italy in the quarters, scoring just two of their penalties in a 4-2 loss.

None of these, however, compare to the agony of 2020. A packed Wembley Stadium dared to dream that football was finally coming home, only to see England lose 3-2 on penalties to Italy in the final.

Will your Euros football predictor picks be spot on?

Predicting the outcome of a penalty shoot-out is almost impossible, which is what makes them so exciting. It also opens the door to surprise results in the Euros football predictor game, giving everyone a chance to score points, whether they’re a hardened football fan or they still think offside is the edge of the pitch.

To find out how to share in the agony and the ecstasy of Euro 2024, by playing the Noise Euros football predictor game, get in touch with our team today. With white label games available for all sizes of company, we can help you engage and reward your colleagues in style this summer.