Regional tournaments for national teams existed before the advent of a truly pan-European competition. Starting in 1883, the British HOME Championship was an annual competition contested between the UK's four national teams.
The European International Cup of Nations was an international football competition held by certain national teams from Central and Southern Europe between 1927 and 1960. There were competitions for professional and amateur teams. Participating nations were: Italy, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Switzerland, Poland, Romania and (in the final competition) Yugoslavia. Poland and Romania only competed in the amateur competition.
Played as a league on a home and away basis, it was contested six times and each single tournament usually took more than two years to complete. The last two tournaments lasted five years. It was discontinued in 1960, when the European Football Championship started. Winners of the competition included the Austrian Wunderteam of the early 1930s, the Italians also won two World Cups in the 1930s, the Golden Team of Hungary and the Czecholslovakian team that later finished as World Cup runners up in 1962.
National teams eventually entered the FIFA World Cup, which was the most important international tournament these nations competed in.
The idea for a pan-European football tournament was first proposed by the French Football Fedration secretary-general Henri Delaumnay in 1927, but it was not until 1958 that the tournament was started, three years after Delaunay's death. In honour of Delaunay, the trophy awarded to the champions is named after him. The 1960 tournament, held in France, had four teams competing in the finals out of 17 that entered the competition. It was won by the Soviet Union, beating Yugoslavia 2–1 in a tense final in Paris. Spain withdrew from its quarter-final match against the Soviet Union because of two political protests. Of the 17 teams that entered the qualifying tournament, notable absentees were England, the Netherlands, West Germany and Italy.
Spain held the next tournament in 1964, which saw an increase in entries to the qualification tournament, with 29 entering; West Germany was a notable absentee once again and Greece withdrew after being drawn against Albania, with whom they were still at war. The hosts beat the title holders, the Soviet Union, 2–1 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid.
The tournament format stayed the same for the 1968 tournament, hosted and won by Italy. For the first and only time, a match was decided on a coin toss (the semi-final between Italy and the Soviet Union) and the final went to a replay, after the match against Yugoslavia finished 1–1. Italy won the replay 2–0. More teams entered this tournament (31), a testament to its burgeoning popularity.
Belgium hosted the 1972 tournament which West Germany won, beating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final, with goals coming from Gerd Muller (twice) and Herbery Wimmer at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. This tournament would provide a taste of things to come, as the German side contained many of the key members of the 1974 FIFA World Cup-winning team.
The 1976 tournament in Yugoslavia was the last in which only four teams took part in the final tournament, and the last in which the hosts had to qualify. Czechoslovakia beat West Germany in the newly introduced penalty shoot out. After seven successful conversions, Uli Honess missed, leaving Czechoslovakian Antonin Panenka with the opportunity to score and win the tournament. An "audacious" chipped shot described by UEFA as "perhaps the most famous spot kick of all time" secured the victory as Czechoslovakia won 5–3 on penalties. (remember the Penenka?).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FqREm2xdV8
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