The former Eastern bloc is represented by a whopping eleven nations during this Euro 2024: Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, Georgia, Albania , Poland and the Czech Republic. The figure is confusing. Certainly, the expansion of the final phase to 24 countries has facilitated this rise in power. But, objectively, who would have bet a kopeck on such a presence at the top of European football? At club level, we cannot say that Eastern Europe, the pride of the former USSR, shines brightly today in major competitions. She had, for example, no representative in the round of 16 of the Champions League. In truth, like their Belgian counterparts, the best Polish, Serbian or Croatian players play in the Premier League, La Liga or Bundesliga. This partly explains it. We will nevertheless see, at the twilight of this Euro, if this group shooting was due to a single combination of circumstances. The last victory of an Eastern nation during a European championship dates back to the year of our Lord 1976 with the title of Czechoslovakia against the Federal Republic of Germany. The final was decided by a penalty shootout and a certain Antonin Panenka entered the legend with his legendary penalty flicked like a Brazilian artist. In the midst of the Cold War, the gesture was seen, on the other side of the Iron Curtain, as a victory for communism!
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