Goals from Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas saw Switzerland end Italy’s title defence with a 2-0 Round of 16 win in Berlin at Euro 2024.
Freuler fired in Switzerland’s opening goal from Vargas’ 37th minute pass, before Vargas confirmed victory with a 46th minute curled strike, which sent Switzerland into the Quarter-Finals for the second consecutive European Championship tournament.
Italy’s title defence in-turn came to a tame end with a poor performance, with their best chance converted onto the left post by Gianluca Scamacca in the 74th minute.
Switzerland now await the winner of England’s Round of 16 tie against Slovakia in their Quarter-Final tie in Dusseldorf on Saturday 6 July at 6pm CEST (5pm UK Time).
Kai Havertz’s penalty and Jamal Musiala’s strike saw Germany beat Denmark 2-0 in the late kick-off despite a 24-minute suspension due to a thunderstorm in the first half, with the tournament hosts awaiting Spain or Georgia in the Quarter-Finals.
Having both finished runners-up in Groups A and B respectively and gone deeper than expected at Euro 2020, Switzerland’s clash against Italy was certainly as close as anticipated with no decent opportunities on goal in the opening 18 minutes
Italy eventually carved out the first proper chance in the 19th minute as Giovanni Di Lorenzo put Nicolo Barella’s free-kick wide with a scruffy shot yards from goal.
Switzerland wasted two opportunities to take the lead in the 24th minute as Breel Embolo’s shot was punched away by Gianluigi Donnarumma, only for Remo Freuler’s rebound strike to be blocked by an Italian defender.
The Swiss however soon began to dictate the momentum and were duly rewarded in the 37th minute, as Ruben Vargas found Freuler in space to fire in the opening goal to put the reigning champions behind at half-time.
Italy boss, Luciano Spalletti made a desperate half-time change with Stephan El Shaarawy substituted for Mattia Zaccagni.
That move quickly backfired just 27 seconds into the second half as a Swiss attacking move up the left found Michel Aebischer via a sloppy pass from Italy’s Nicolo Fagioli, but he opted to tee up Vargas to curl into the far-right corner unmarked to double Switzerland’s lead.
Italy in response continued to lack a cutting edge and their exit was almost confirmed from a 66th minute Swiss free-kick, but Fabian Rieder curled his shot just wide of the top-left corner.
That moment sparked the Italians into life and they nearly pulled a goal back in the 74th minute, yet Scamacca met a knockdown header from a long ball and hit the left post from close-range in the reigning champions’ best chance of the game.
Switzerland ultimately showcased their defensive resilience to keep their first clean sheet and secure their Quarter-Final spot at a second consecutive Euros, with England or Slovakia awaiting them in Dusseldorf.
Teams
Switzerland – Yann Sommer, Fabian Schar, Manuel Akjani, Ricardo Rodriguez, Michel Aebischer, Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Fabian Rieder (Stergiou 71′), Ruben Vargas, Dan Ndoye (Sierro 77′), Breel Embolo (Duah 77′)
Substitutes: Zeki Amdouni, Kwadwo Duah, Nico Elvedi, Ardon Jashari, Gregor Kobel, Yvon Mvogo, Noah Okafor, Xherdan Shaqiri, Vincent Sierro, Renato Steffen, Leonidas Stergiou, Dennis Zakaria, Cedric Zesiger, Steven Zuber, Xherdan Shaqiri
Italy – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matteo Darmian (Cambiaso 75′), Alessandro Bastoni, Gianluca Mancini, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Nicolo Barella (Retegui 64′), Nicolo Fagioli (Frattesi 86′), Bryan Cristante (Pellegrini 75′), Stephan El Shaarawy (Zaccagni 46′), Gianluca Scamacca, Federico Chiesa
Substitutes: Raoul Bellanova, Alessandro Buongiorno, Andrea Cambiaso, Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi, Jorginho, Federico Gatti, Michael Folorunsho, Alex Meret, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Giacomo Raspadori, Mateo Retegui, Guglielmo Vicario, Mattia Zaccagni
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