The curtain of the 1/8 finals of the 2024 European Championship kicked off, and the first matchup was an upset, with defending champion Italy losing 0-2 to Switzerland, stopping in the round of 16 of the European Championship and going home early. Crueller and Vargas each scored a goal, and Donnarumma made two great saves to save Italy.
As the defending champion of the European Championship, the Italian team's performance in the group stage was relatively average, with a thrilling 2-1 reversal of Albania in the first game, 0-1 in the second round by the favorite Spain to rub on the ground, and a 1-1 draw with Croatia in the last minute of injury time in the final round. On the other hand, the Swiss team even almost overthrew the host German team and became a dark horse.
As it turns out, what should come will always come. In the 1/8 finals, the second Switzerland in Group A played against the second Italy in Group B, and the dark horse was full of color against the defeated defending champion, and the strength of the result decided everything.
In the 24th minute of the game, the Swiss team played a perfect counterattack, Embolo successfully formed a single knife against offside, but unfortunately met the brave Donnarumma.
In the 37th minute, the Swiss team made a comeback, in front of the goal from outside the Vargas penalty area, Kruller stopped the ball in the penalty area and volleyed, breaking through the brave Donnarumma, and the Swiss team led 1-0.
Just before half-time, Switzerland won a free-kick on the right side of the pitch, Fabian Reid swooped in and Donnarumma made another brilliant save that hit the post and bounced off the post. At half-time, Switzerland 1-0 Italy.
In the second half, the Swiss team launched a blitzkrieg. Just 20 seconds into the game, Switzerland had already made a series of easy passes in the Italian penalty area, and Vargas seized the opportunity to score into the far corner to give Switzerland a 2-0 lead.
Trailing 2-0, the Italian team could not even organize an effective attack, with only one of the 11 shots on goal on target, and the difference in strength was visible to the naked eye, and the defending champions were no longer the top giants in Europe.
In the end, the whole game ended, the first 1/8 final of the 2024 European Cup, Italy 0-2 Switzerland broke a big upset, the defending champion was out of the tournament early, and the Swiss team reached the quarterfinals for two consecutive European Cups, congratulations to the Swiss team!