As the reigning champions of the European Championships, Italy's journey in the group stage can be described as stumbling, and it was not until a last-second draw against Croatia that Italy successfully qualified and avoided the embarrassment of exiting the group. After a few days of rest, the knockout round of the European Championship was also played in the early morning of June 30, Beijing time, the first knockout match was played between Italy and Switzerland, Freuler and Vargas scored one goal each in the second half, Italy had no way to fight back, and the defending champion was upset 0:2.
Switzerland are unbeaten in Group A, finishing second in the group after being held to a goalless draw by Germany in the last round. The last time the two teams met was in the Qatar World Cup qualifiers, Jorginho missed a crucial goal, laying the groundwork for Italy to miss the World Cup. With Dimarco injured and Calafiori suspended, Spalletti continued with the 3-5-2 lineup: Donnarumma was in goal, Darmian, Mancini Jr. and Bastoni formed the backline; Barella, Faggioli and Cristante make up the midfield; Shaarawy and Di Lorenzo split the wings; Scamacca and Chiesa Jr. partnered the two strikers.
From the start of the game, Italy were firmly pressed by Switzerland, who made a total of 54 passes to the final third in the first 25 minutes of the first half, and 45 of them were successful, with a success rate of 83%. Italy made only three of their six passes to the final third. At the same time, Switzerland led with 58% possession and 10-1 shots on goal! Under the strong attack of Switzerland, the Italian defence has been under pressure.
In the 24th minute, Embolo had a one-handed chance to shoot, and Donnarumma reacted quickly to save the ball with both hands; In the 37th minute, Vargas made a little observation on the left side and then crossed, and Freuler inserted it to get rid of the little Mancini defense and fired a low shot into the near corner, 0:1! Switzerland have scored in seven consecutive European Championship games, the longest consecutive scoring streak in the team's history. Italy, on the other hand, have conceded goals in five consecutive European Championships. In stoppage time of the half, Reid took a free-kick and went straight at goal, but Donnarumma made a sideways save and bounced off the post, and the Azzurri almost conceded another goal.
Returning from the locker room, Spalletti immediately used Zaccagni to remove the almost invisible Shaarawy; However, just 30 seconds into the second half, Vargas combined with Xhaka on the left side and shot directly into the far corner in the penalty area, Di Lorenzo lost his position and failed to complete the defense, and the ball flew into the goal guarded by Donnarumma again in an arc, 0:2! In the 52nd minute, Reid's header flew towards his own goal, but the ball hit between the post and the crossbar, and even luck was not on Italy's side.
Faced with a two-goal deficit, Spalletti could only replace Retegui, Cambiaso Jr., Pellegrini and others to strengthen the attack, but still had no effect; In the 73rd minute, Faggioli picked up a pass to the penalty area, Zaccagni's header was ferried, and Scamacca grabbed a low shot in front of the goal and hit the post again! Except for this attempt, the rest of the time the Italian flute was not made of any decent chances.
In the end, 0:2 naturally became the score of the whole game, Italy was eliminated, and the defending champion went home in the knockout round; Switzerland has successfully reached the last eight of the European Championships for the second time in a row. Their last-eight opponents will be between England and Slovakia.