In the early morning of June 30, local time, one of the highlights of the European football feast, the 1/8 finals of the 2024 European Cup, kicked off in the spotlight. On this day, Switzerland and Italy face off for a place in the quarter-finals. After 90 minutes of fierce battle, the Swiss team had the last laugh with a score of 2-0 and successfully qualified, while Italy regretfully ended the journey of this European Championship. Italy's last defeat to Switzerland was 31 years ago, with a 1-0 win over Italy in the 1993 World Qualifiers.
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From the start of the game, the Swiss team showed a strong desire to attack. In the 12th minute, Swiss captain Xhaka picked up a precise cross into the penalty area, Ndoye quickly followed, trying to rub the ball, but Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma reacted quickly and protected the ball off the line. Later, the Italian midfielder Barella showed his footwork again in a free-kick opportunity in front of the goal, and his cross found team-mate Di Lorenzo in the box, but the latter's follow-up volley was slightly wide, and the linesman raised the flag to signal that Italy were offside.
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In the 24th minute, the Swiss threatened again when Embolo received a diagonal cross from Ebischer and formed a one-on-one movement, and his push was saved in the face of Donnarumma's attack. Immediately afterwards, the Swiss team's attack did not stop, the ball came to the top of the arc, Ndoye decisively volleyed, but unfortunately it was blocked. In the 32nd minute, the Swiss team attacked again, Ronaldo suddenly made a mistake outside the penalty area, and a cold shot flew towards the goal, full of power, but slightly higher than the goal.
In this fierce match, the two teams Switzerland and Italy fought the field to fight for the victory. In the 37th minute of the game, the situation on the field changed. Vargas cleverly played the ball into the box and Freuler quickly followed, stopping the ball and volleying it into the Italian goal to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead.
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In the first minutes of stoppage time, Fabian Reid had the opportunity to show his skills. He took a free-kick from the right side of the pitch and did not hesitate to hit the goal. The ball flew towards the goal. Donnarumma made a flying save and the ball bounced off the post. The scene made the atmosphere on the pitch even more tense, and the crowd cheered and applauded the performance of the players of both teams.
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In the second half, the game became more intense. Less than a minute into the second half, Ebischer cleverly played an inverted triangle pass down the left flank and slotted the ball to the left side of the box. Vargas quickly stopped the ball and fired a shot that flew into the Italian goal again. With this goal, the Swiss extended their lead to 2-0.
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Italy, however, did not give up. In the 51st minute, Faggioli's precise long pass found Schal in the box, and Schal jumped up to clear the ball with a header, but headed the ball towards his own goal. The ball hit the post and narrowly missed. This scene made the Italian players regret it and the Swiss team broke out in a cold sweat. In the 66th minute, Fabian Reid was given another chance to take a free-kick. He stood on the right side of the pitch, calmly observed the position of the opposing goalkeeper, and then struck a full blow.
The ball arced and flew towards the goal. This time, however, the ball went just over the crossbar and Italy missed a chance to pull one back. In this high-profile match, both teams gave their best on the pitch in an attempt to secure the victory. In the 73rd minute, the situation changed on the pitch, Cristante cleverly passed the ball to the top of the arc, Retegui quickly stopped the ball and turned, and decisively launched a low shot, but unfortunately it was safely confiscated by Swiss goalkeeper Sommer.
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Just a minute later, Cristante showed his passing prowess again when he played a pinpoint long pass into the box and Zaccagni leapt up to head it in to create a goalmouth chance for Scamas to grab the spot. However, the gods of fate did not seem to favour Italy, as Scamas had a shot blocked by the post before Faggioli tried to strike from beyond the box but the ball flew over the crossbar and failed to find the back of the net.
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In the 83rd minute, Xhaka showed his skill when he slotted straight to the left side of the penalty area, and Zubair quickly followed up with a shot from a tight angle, but the ball was deflected wide of the far sideline. Manuel Pellegrini then tried to strike from distance at the top of the arc, but the ball also flew over the crossbar and failed to equalise for Italy.
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In the final minute of stoppage time, Chiesa Jr. tried to shoot from distance, but the ball went high and could not change the outcome of the game. In the end, the Swiss team won 2-0 against Italy with a solid defense and scored the precious three points. Throughout the game, although the Italian team attacked fiercely, it unfortunately failed to score.
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The Swiss team, on the other hand, relied on a solid defense to turn the advantage into a victory. The victory in this game undoubtedly gave confidence to the Swiss team and made the Italian team realize that they need to further strengthen in attack. Switzerland reach the quarter-finals of the European Championship and will face either England or Slovakia in the quarter-finals!