Penalty Heartbreak: The best sides to lose by penalties in the European Championships

France (Euro 1996)

Pedros was lambasted by fans and media alike after his miss.

If the French team playing in Euro ‘96 knew what the extent of their future success would be (winning both the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000), you’d imagine it would significantly quell their blow of exiting the European championships in the semi-finals in the sudden death stage of the penalty shootouts. But they didn’t and one can only imagine how shattered they must have been after the shootout which saw 10 perfect penalties and then Reynald Pedros missing to give the Czech Republic victory.

Pedros, who was considered one of the most talented French midfielders around (along with a certain Zinedine Zidane), was targeted by the fans and media after France’s ouster and his career never really recovered.