In the early morning of June 30, Beijing time, the 2024 European Football Championship (European Cup) ended with two knockout rounds. The host team Germany defeated Denmark 2-0 and successfully advanced to the last eight. Last year's champions, Italy, ended their European Championship journey with a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland.
The picture is from the UEFA European Cup Weibo
1
Italy lost to Switzerland for the first time in 31 years
On the 29th local time, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, which was the venue where Italy finally won the 2006 World Cup, many of the heroes who won the championship that year came to the scene, but they collectively witnessed the rout of the defending champions, which was the first time in 31 years that the Italian team lost to Switzerland.
In this game, the better-in-form Swiss team dominated all the statistics, scoring one goal in each half and eliminating the previous champion 2:0. The victory was also Switzerland's first victory over Italy since 1993.
After the game, the sad and lost Bastoni (picture from UEFA European Cup Weibo)
In this European Championship, the Italian team, which has always been known for its solid defense and fierce counterattacks, did not perform well at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, and only won one game in the group stage. Italy coach Luciano Spalletti said he only had a handful of games to get to know the team, and too little time with the players was one of the reasons for the defeat.
It was also the first time in nearly 20 years that Italy failed to reach the quarter-finals of the European Championships, having last failed to qualify from the group in 2004 (beaten 2-2 by Sweden and Denmark) and the first time Italy had lost two games in a single European Championship (1-0 defeat to Spain in the group stage).
2
The triumph of high technology
The game between Germany and Denmark was full of twists and turns, and in the opening four minutes, Schlotterbeck scored with a header from a corner, but Kimmich blocked a defender and fouled first, and the goal was disallowed. But slow-motion shows that the pick-and-roll coordination foul is controversial. On 36 minutes, the game had to be interrupted due to a thunderstorm, but the game was resumed after 25 minutes.
In the 48th minute, Denmark took advantage of a free kick opportunity to cause a scuffle in the German penalty area, and central defender Anderson scored with a low shot, but VAR intervened in the game, and the semi-automatic offside system ruled that Delaney's offside was invalid in the first goal.
After the inspection, Germany immediately attacked, Raum crossed from the left, Anderson extended his arm and touched the ball, and the high-tech chip also showed Anderson handball, Germany won a penalty, Havertz scored from the penalty spot to break the deadlock.
3
Switzerland became a powerhouse in Europe
In the quarter-finals of this European Championship, Switzerland beat defending champions Italy 2-0, and only two teams in history have scored twice in regulation time in a single round of 16 match – France in 1986 and Switzerland in 2024, both 2-0. Fans commented: The Swiss team is a European powerhouse.
The victory also gave Switzerland their first regular-time win in the round of 16 of a major tournament in their history. Statistics show that the Swiss team has won three draws and four defeats in regulation time before the tournament, and this game is also their first win in regulation time. Switzerland have won three and drawn four of their last seven European Championship games (playing two penalty shoot-outs) and are yet to lose in regulation time.
The picture is from the UEFA European Cup Weibo
Statistics show that Switzerland made 512 passes and 470 successful passes in this game, with a success rate of 92%. This is also the highest pass success rate in a single major game since statistics began in 1966.
Freuder broke the deadlock in the 37th minute of the first half, and Switzerland have scored in each of their last seven European Championship games, the longest consecutive scoring streak in the team's history. The goal came after 31 consecutive passes, the highest European Championship record since Opta began tallying in 1980.
Head coach Yakin was delighted after the game and when asked about his possible opponents in the quarter-finals, he said: "You have to ask the fans this question, would they prefer to play against England or Slovakia. But Yakin stressed, "Hopefully that is not the end of our path, and we can continue to make history." ”
Source: China News Network, The Paper