Czech Republic return to Wembley during Nations League, 30 years after Euro 1996 final

The Czech Republic will return to Wembley during this international break as part of Nations League Group A3, meeting England in Prague on Tuesday (19:45 BST) and at Wembley on 6 October.

Patrik Berger's penalty had the Czech Republic just over 30 minutes away from winning Euro '96, but Germany's golden goal ended their hopes in the final at the old Wembley three decades ago; the tournament was the first European Championship staged after Czechoslovakia separated into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The team arrived at the competition as outsiders, with most of the squad still playing in the domestic league and several players having booked holidays for after the group stage, while Vladimir Smicer was due to get married. Berger recalled Jurgen Kohler asking what his summer plans were and saying, "to watch games?" before laughing when Berger told him the Czechs would play Germany in the first game and reach the final: "He was asking me what my plans were for the summer. I said 'I'm going to the Euros' and he said 'to watch games?' "I said 'no, we're playing you guys the first game of the group stages and then we will play in the final' - and he was laughing."

Czechoslovakia lost their opening Euro '96 match 2-0 to Germany at Old Trafford, then beat Italy 2-1 at Anfield, and Vladimir Smicer's late equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Russia at Anfield was enough to progress after Italy failed to beat Germany, the Italy–Germany game finishing 0-0. Berger described the uncertainty after the Russia game: "One minute we're not qualifying, the next it was we qualified, so we didn't really know." He added, "After the final whistle it took a few minutes before we realised we qualified for the quarter-finals."

Karel Poborsky produced one of the tournament's iconic goals in the quarter-finals, scooping the ball over Vitor Baia to beat Portugal 1-0 at Villa Park, and the Czechs then drew 0-0 with France at Old Trafford before winning the semi-final 6-5 on penalties. Spot-kicks were converted by players including Pavel Nedved, Patrik Berger and Karel Poborsky, who returned to the ground weeks later as a newly signed Manchester United player. On the pressure of a shootout Berger said, "You don't want to go there," and added, "If someone says something different they're lying. Nobody wants to take that penalty." He also reflected on the semi-final win: "We were living the dream," Berger said. "It was an amazing feeling. An amazing moment for the country. "To get to the final was kind of like a miracle for everyone."

Two days before the final Smicer returned to Prague to get married, with thousands of Czech fans turning out in the city centre, but he had to return to England the same day. In the final at Wembley the Czech Republic took the lead after 59 minutes from Berger's drilled penalty, with Berger saying he had not been the designated taker but "The only thing in my mind was hit it as hard as possible on target." Oliver Bierhoff equalised 14 minutes later and then scored the first-ever golden goal in a major tournament final to give Germany the victory. On the aftermath Berger said, "It wasn't meant to be," and added, "I'd love to be European champion, but silver for us was like a gold because it opened doors to so many of us. And it opened doors to the generation after us. I have no regrets. "Thanks to Euro 96, because it was played in England, I caught the eye of Liverpool. "There were 100,000 waiting for us in Prague celebrating. Even silver felt like winning the tournament for us."

As Czechoslovakia the country won the European Championship in 1976 and lost two World Cup finals in 1934 and 1962, but the Czech Republic's first tournament as a separate nation remains the last time they reached a final. The national side later reached the 2004 semi-finals and the quarter-finals in 2012 and 2021; the 2004 squad mixed youth such as Petr Cech, Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky with experience from Smicer, Berger and Poborsky, and lost to eventual winners Greece in the last four. Prague-based journalist Ondrej Zlamal said that 2004 team and their performances "were even better" than in 1996 and added, "This generation with Nedved and others culminated in 2004 and we had a feeling we should have won the Euros. We played better football than in 1996," Zlamal said. "It was the second highlight of the golden generation."

The Czech Republic's only two World Cups since then, 2006 and 2026, ended in group-stage exits, and Zlamal described the 2026 performance as "really disappointing." He offered a rationale: "There is a simple answer to why [the team have not lived up to the heights of the past] – we don't have such talented footballers as we had. "We don't have enough players in the top teams like we used to. "When I was six I watched the 1976 final which Czechoslovakia won, and my father told me 'remember this because you won't see it any more'. "I don't believe this generation can reach such a success because the competition and football is much bigger. "Miracles happen and maybe there could be a new generation which could be surprising as 1996... but I don't believe it will happen again."

A new era has begun under Spaniard Santi Denia, the first foreign manager in the national side's history, and his first squad for Nations League games against Croatia, England and Spain includes seven players with either no caps or one cap, although none are aged under 22. Thirty years on from the Euro '96 final, the old Wembley stadium has been replaced by the modern venue, and Denia's side will meet England in Prague on Tuesday (19:45 BST) before returning to Wembley on 6 October.