This is the first sensation of the competition. Defending holder Italy was beaten (2-0) by Switzerland on Saturday June 29 in Berlin in the round of 16 of the European Nations Championship. The Nati mastered the match against an unattractive Italian team with a severe lack of inspiration.
With this result, Switzerland qualifies for the second consecutive time in its history for the quarter-finals of the competition, after having eliminated France at this stage during Euro 2020 (played in 2021).
She will face the winner of the England-Slovakia match on Saturday July 6 in Düsseldorf at 6 p.m.
Relive | Italy, defending champion, eliminated by Switzerland in the round of 16 of the Euro
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What you must remember
An assist, and a goal. In a match where Switzerland largely dominated its opponent, the Augsburg (Germany) striker knew how to stand out by being decisive twice… on the two goals scored by his team.
1-0, 37e : On his left side, Ruben Vargas finds Remo Freuler in the Italian area thanks to an ultra-precise pass. The Swiss midfielder controls the ball and continues with a left-footed volley which leaves Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma no chance.
2-0, 46e : A few seconds after the start of the second half, Ruben Vargas was found in the area and with a sublime curl of his right foot, deceived Gianluigi Donnarumma.
The Nati have scored in each of their last seven matches at the Euro: this is the best series in their history in the competition.
- The turning point of the match: the Italy post.
At 51e minute of the match, on a harmless cross from Nicolo Fagioli, Swiss defender Fabian Schar sent the ball towards the cage of his goalkeeper, Yann Sommer. Fortunately for the Swiss goalkeeper, his teammate’s header hit the left post while he was beaten.
- The phrase : Luciano Spalletti, Italy coach, on BeIN Sports:
“The freshness made the difference today. I thought we would recover better, but the temperature didn’t help us. We didn’t manage to make the effort together, so we paid for it. For the future ? We’re going to need a team with more speed and more sense of sacrifice. »
This match was enjoyable because it was surprising: it was difficult to predict that Italy would be eliminated without scoring a single goal. But precisely, the Nazionale did not offer enough resistance for the debate to get going. Until the 70the minute, the Italians did not approach Yann Sommer’s goal. The Swiss, once again very efficient and pleasant to watch play, did not ask for so much.
