History is in the making! Designated by many observers as the hidden favourite of this Euro 2024, Switzerland has taken the road to the quarter-finals with a confidence that was probably unsuspected.
In Berlin, she beat Italy 2-0 to win a second round of 16 at the Euro, three years after the success on penalties against the French world champions in Bucharest. In Berlin, this time she will not have really trembled to eliminate the title holders.
This success was achieved with two superb goals, a magnificent sequence from Remo Freuler in the 37th minute and an unstoppable strike from Ruben Vargas, who provided the assist for the opening goal, for the 2-0 in the 46th minute. Despite all his class and this impression of having become almost invincible after his exploits during the group stage, Gianluigi Donnarumma could do nothing.
This victory, the first against Italy since… 31 years and the 1-0 in Bern on May 1, 1993, will lead Switzerland to Düsseldorf next Saturday. Its opponent will be the winner of the England – Slovakia match that will be played this Sunday in Gelsenkirchen. After its demonstration against Italy, a truth is emerging: it is becoming more and more perilous to bet against Switzerland.
Switzerland… poorly paid
At the break, Switzerland could have led… 3-0 if it had been accompanied by greater success. Before Freuler’s goal, Breel Embolo, perfectly launched by Michel Aebischer, had lost his duel against Donnarumma in a position which was not far from being “ideal”. And just before the break, it was Fabian Rieder, with his magnificent left foot, who saw his shot deflected by Donnarumma on his near post.
If Donarumma had to deliver the goods to allow his team to stay in the match, Yann Sommer was not really worried during this first period which saw Switzerland benefit quite clearly from possession (58%). The Italians only had to alert the goalkeeper and his defenders once with a cross from Federico Chiesa pushed back by Manuel Akanji (26th).
In their now traditional 3-4-2-1 but with Dan Ndoye in a right piston role – the boss’s surprise – Switzerland exercised almost total control over the match. With Granit Xhaka still as imperial at the controls, they extinguished the opposing midfield with rare mastery. Never in history had the “Squadra Azzurra” appeared so disarmed, so harmless against their northern neighbour as during these first forty-five minutes.
A big scare for Schär
A handful of seconds after the restart, the Italians went down for the count. With a superb curling shot, Vargas left Donnarumma no chance for the break goal. A break which could have been canceled in the 52nd with a header from Schär on his own post. The Saint-Gallois was not far from committing his second autogoal of the tournament after allowing the Scots to open the scoring in the group stage.
This fear aside, Switzerland controlled this second half without any difficulty. Sommer had to wait until the 72nd minute to capture a first shot on target, that of new arrival Mateo Retgui. A minute earlier, the “magician” Murat Yakin had made his first changes with the introductions of Steven Zuber and Stergiou for Vargas and Rieder, Ndoye going up a notch. However, the Vaudois had to quickly give way to Vincent Sierro. The time had come to close the door.
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