Roundup of the opening Quarter-Finals on day 22 of Euro 2020 as Switzerland, Spain, Belgium and Italy all battled for a semi-final spot.
Switzerland and Spain met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, just five days after producing thrilling comebacks to knock out France and Croatia respectively.
Belgium meanwhile looked to consolidate their status as serious title contenders as they took on a revived Italy in Munich, Germany, with both teams looking for a spot in the final four.
Switzerland 1-1 Spain (Spain wins 3-1 on penalties)
A bright start saw Ferran Torres ‘ seventh minute shot for Spain blocked with the resulting corner finding Jordi Alba to fire in, albeit via an eighth minute deflection from Denis Zakaria who consequently was adjudged to have scored an own goal.
Koke missed a 15th minute chance after bending a free-kick over the bar before Cesar Azpilicueta saw a header saved by Yann Sommer ten minutes later in the two notable chances of a scrappy first half, following Zakaria’s own goal.
Dani Olmo missed an early second half chance as he met Alvaro Morata’s 47th minute cross, only to volley his strike straight into Sommer’s arms.
Switzerland however refused to give up as both teams traded chances and ultimately equalised from Remo Freulier’s 68th minute interception of a defensive fumble, which enabled him to tee up Xherdan Shaqiri to fire in beyond a helpless Unai Simon.
Freuler however was red carded eight minutes later for a late sliding foul on Gerard Moreno but the Swiss stuck in to force extra time, where they weathered waves of Spanish attacks from Olmo, Moreno and Mikel Oyarzabal to force penalties.
Both teams were locked at 1-1 apiece after the first three rounds of spot-kicks as Sergio Busquets and Rodri missed for Spain either side of Olmo’s strike, whilst Fabian Schar and Manuel Akanji missed Switzerland’s second and third penalties after Mario Gavranovic had fired the Swiss ahead.
Gerard Moreno scored Spain’s fourth penalty to move them 2-1 ahead with Ruben Vargas then firing over for Switzerland, which enabled Oyarzabal to seal a 3-1 Spanish win on penalties after firing into the bottom right corner.
Belgium 1-2 Italy
Romelu Lukaku missed an early chance to fire Belgium ahead after just 50 seconds as Gianluigi Donnarumma saved his shot, after the Belgian had collected a through ball from Kevin De Bruyne into the box.
Federico Chiesa and Lorenzo Insigne soon afterwards saw chances go begging until Thorgan Hazard fouled Jorginho in the 13th minute, with Leonardo Bonucci flicking in from Giorgio Chiellini’s flick-on of a free-kick only for the latter to be adjudged offside with the goal chalked off.
Donnarumma made an excellent save 13 minutes later as De Bruyne broke from an interception to tee up Lukaku, only for the Italian to block his curled shot and Chiesa broke from the resulting corner but Thibaut Courtois saved his effort.
Insigne then curled wide of the top right corner moments later but Nicolo Barella eventually broke the deadlock for Italy five minutes later, firing in from Marco Verratti’s pass on the high press to put Roberto Mancini’s men in front.
Chiesa then missed a 41st minute shot as he rifled wide of the right corner before Insigne doubled Italy’s lead three minutes later, striking a beautifully curled shot beyond Courtois into the top right corner from outside of the box.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo however gifted Belgium hope after fouling Lukaku with a shove on the stroke of half time, with the Belgian firing his penalty into the right corner to half Belgium’s deficit at the break.
Two minutes after the restart, Chiesa missed an opportunity to restore Italy’s two goal lead as he fired wide from the edge of the box.
Donnarumma eight minutes later went on to almost concede a second goal as he fumbled Jeremy Doku’s shot initially, only to make a key save just before the ball rolled behind for a corner.
Both teams then began to exchange chances at opposite ends with Nacer Chadli providing a stunning 70th minute backheel flick towards Lukaku, who just couldn’t get his head onto the ball before Hazard unintentionally flicked the ball away just yards from goal.
Doku then missed an 84th minute chance to equalise for Belgium as he curled his shot over the bar from the edge of the box, having made a cut-in move from the left.
De Bruyne won a 90th minute free-kick after being fouled by Chiellini with the set piece needing to be retaken, after Domenico Berardi blocked the initial delivery by being less than 10 yards from the shot but the second take was punched away by Donnarumma as he got tangled with Axel Witsel.
Italy eventually clung on to secure victory and set up a semi-final clash against Spain in the opening semi-final at Wembley Stadium, London, on Tuesday 6 July 2021 with kick-off at 8pm BST UK Time.