In the expectation of countless fans, the curtain of the knockout round of the 2024 European Championship officially opened, and no one expected that there would be a big upset in the first game, and the defending champion Italy team was eliminated in the round of 16!
In the European Championship three years ago, the Italian team won the final championship trophy in an upset when they were not favored, so although they are low-key in this competition, there are still many fans who regard Italy as one of the favorites to win the championship. In the group stage, the Italian team only achieved 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss, if it wasn't for Zaccagni's equalizing goal to help the Italian team draw with Croatia, then the blue team may even be out of the group stage!
Italy's opponent in the knockout round is Switzerland, who are the second team in Group A. Although the total population of the country is only 8.7 million, the Swiss men's football team is a world powerhouse. In the last European Championship, they beat France in a shock and managed to reach the quarter-finals. After three years, they played in the European Championship again, and their performance was still very good. In the group stage, Switzerland almost knocked out hosts Germany, and if it wasn't for Phil Kruger's injury-time goal, it would have been Switzerland who finished first in Group A.
Originally, everyone thought that this game should be a close matchup, and even the defending champion Italy team would have some advantages, but the trend of the game surprised the fans!
Once the game began, the Swiss were firmly in control of the game, and the Italians could only rely on sporadic counter-attacks to create opening chances. In the 37th minute, the Swiss team's onslaught finally paid off, Vargas's pass on the left accurately found his teammates in the penalty area, Freuler stopped the ball and adjusted slightly, and then directly volleyed the goal, helping the Swiss team take the lead in breaking the deadlock and taking a 1-0 lead!
In the rematch, the Swiss team did not slow down the pace of attack in the slightest. Just one minute into the second half, they played another sharp attack, Vargas chose to attack directly after receiving the ball in the corner of the penalty area, and the ball drew a beautiful arc and flew into the corner of the goal, 2-0! The Swiss team successfully extended the score! The Italian team, which was forced to the edge of the cliff, had to press hard and launched a crazy counterattack, but in the face of the Swiss team's active retreat, the Italians did not seem to have many options, and finally the blue team lost 0-2 to the Swiss team, and the journey of this European Championship came to an end.
The win over Italy also made history for Switzerland, who reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship twice in a row. This dark horse, which continues to surprise everyone, is definitely not willing to stop there, I wonder if there will be their names in the next top four teams?