This Day in History: 2023-05-05

Nr. 451

LUCK FLIPS ITALY INTO FINAL (1968)

Italy needed Lady Luck to stay on the path to their first major soccer title for 30 years in the newly-named European Championships. The Azzurris’ 5 June semifinal against the Soviet Union was decided on the toss of a coin after the two sides were deadlocked at 0-0. Luck certainly didn’t favour the Soviet team, despite the fact that they had their talismanic keeper Lev Yashin in goal. They went on to lose the third and fourth-place decider to England 2-0. The 1968 tournament was also unusual in having two-legged quarter-finals with the semi-finals held in the host country, Italy.

The ltaly squad of 1968 was talented but had to rely on a very unorthodox means of breaking the deadlock to reach the final.