After two days of waiting, the European Championship was finally reignited, and on the first matchday of the knockout round, there was a big upset, with defending champions Italy losing 2-0 to Switzerland and being eliminated in the round of 16. The host German team defeated the Danish team 2-0 and continued to attack the championship!
As the defending champions of the European Championship, the performance of the Italian team has undoubtedly disappointed many fans. They stumbled in the group stage and it was thanks to a goalless equaliser from substitute striker Jacques Zaccagni that they struggled to beat Croatia and secure a ticket to the round of 16. But luck will favor the Italians once, but not forever.
In the 1/8 final with the Swiss team, the Italian team was suppressed by the opponent throughout the game, and with the goals of Freuler and Vargas, the Swiss team took an early 2-0 lead and firmly held the initiative of the game in their own hands. The Italian team, which was two goals behind, did not see the slightest idea of equalizing, and even in the final moments of the game, the Italian team has been attacking unhurriedly. Italy, who had no goal, lost 2-0 to Switzerland and became the first team to be eliminated in the round of 16. The winning Swiss team has reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship for the second time in a row, and their European Championship journey is far from stopping.
Next up was the host Germany team, and their opponent was the Danish team, who had won the championship miraculously. And this matchup can also be called the most talked-about contest in this European Cup, and a total of 3 goals were blown by both teams throughout the game. In the first half, there was also extremely bad weather in the stadium, thunderstorms and hail, and the game was interrupted for more than 20 minutes.
In the 53rd minute of the second half, Kai Havertz opened the scoring for Germany from a penalty spot, and then Musiala received a long pass from centre-back Strobek to double the score and kill the suspense of the game in advance. In the end, Germany defeated Denmark 2-0 and continued to attack for their fourth Delaunay Cup.
England and Spain will also be in action tomorrow night, so I wonder if they will be like Italy or the Germans will make it to the quarter-finals.