Without trepidation Ciao Italia! Strong national team eliminates defending European Championship champions Italy

Martin Abgottspon

29.6.2024

Italy remain pale in the European Championship round of 16 against Switzerland. Switzerland thanked Italy and advanced to the quarter-finals with goals from Freuler and Vargas. There the team will face England or Slovakia.

Switzerland

Completed

2:0

(1:0)

Italy

Remo Freuler - 1:0 (37.)
Ruben Vargas - 2:0 (46.)

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Just like three years ago, Switzerland reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship. And just like three years ago (victory on penalties against France), they beat a great footballing nation on the way there. And how! Italy, four-time world champions and two-time European champions (most recently in 2021), were really played to the wall in the first half.

The fact that Remo Freuler scored the goal that put Switzerland ahead after a long, unsuccessful run was probably something like fate. Not only because the 32-year-old rarely receives the recognition he deserves as "Granit Xhaka's sidekick". But above all because Freuler had had a difficult few days.

Goalscorer in the round of 16After his apology, Freuler stabs Italy in the heart again

An actually harmless statement he made was presented in the Italian press in such a way that Freuler suddenly found himself confronted with many attacks on social media. Freuler had pointed out that Switzerland had stayed ahead of the Italians in the World Cup qualifiers, who subsequently missed out on the tournament. One medium claimed to have detected a mocking undertone, whereupon Freuler and his family were insulted below the belt. The Zurich native, who has lived in Italy for almost eight years with a brief interruption, felt compelled to publish an apology.

The fact that he was now able to give an answer on the pitch visibly did Freuler good. He released the tension of the past few days in a sprint, a leap over the boards and a cry of joy. The 71-time international (9 goals) has rarely been seen like this.

Vargas' trick shot into luck

The lead could hardly have been more deserved. Few could have imagined that Switzerland would dominate Italy like this. In fact, the Azzurri were unable to cope with the Swiss' strong pressing. It often took just two or three passes for possession to go back to the Reds.

The only flaw was the exploitation of chances and the final passes or crosses. Too often, the bright ideas were missing. And when Breel Embolo suddenly found himself alone in front of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, he probably had too much time and shot too imprecisely.

Ruben Vargas showed how to finish accurately after around half a minute in the second half. He calmly took the ball on his right foot at the left corner of the penalty area and flicked it into the far corner of the goal. And for the 25-year-old winger, who has often battled passionately but haplessly in this tournament, it was also a redemption. He was the sixth goal scorer for the Swiss at this tournament; no one has ever scored twice.

And what happened next can be summarized quickly: Switzerland confidently defended their lead over time. Italy hardly had any chances, and the defense only had to tremble briefly when Fabian Schär's attempted header landed on his own post.

Reward for pulling together

For the Swiss national team, the success against Italy is a coup and the reward for an overall strong tournament performance - on and off the pitch. The players, above all coach Yakin and captain Xhaka, have pulled themselves together after the weak European Championship qualifiers and found a common path.

The team has become a unit and has realized that it has a great chance with the "master axis" of Yann Sommer, Manuel Akanji and Granit Xhaka. The players have already emphasized the high intensity and quality of the training sessions during their preparations in St. Gallen. Side issues such as the poor training ground in Stuttgart or the still unclear future of coach Yakin were deliberately ignored in order to concentrate on the big goal.

The official target was to reach the knockout phase. However, as this had always been achieved in the last ten years, it was clear that only reaching the quarter-finals would trigger the right euphoria. The Swiss have now achieved this! They will remain in Germany for at least another week and will face England or Slovakia next Saturday (18:00) in Düsseldorf.

What the Nati heroes say"We have an incredibly great team" - "We can carry on like this"

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46.

Vargas with a dream goal to make it 2:0

37.

Freuler with the well-deserved Swiss lead

How Switzerland start against Italy

Aufstellung | Composition | Formazione

🕕 18:00 📺 SRF 2, RTS 2, RSI La 2#natimiteuch #lanatiavecvous #lanaticonvoi #lanaticunvus #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/3JDl0zFrvt
— 🇨🇭 Nati (@nati_sfv_asf) June 29, 2024

And this is how Italy go into the round of 16

Gli 1️⃣1️⃣ #Azzurri scelti dal Ct Luciano Spalletti per

🇨🇭 Svizzera 🆚 Italia 🇮🇹

🗓 Oggi
⏱ 18.00
🏟 Olympiastadion - Berlino
📺 #RaiUno e #Sky #EURO2024 #Nazionale #SvizzeraItalia #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/QvGR8jf8ar
— Nazionale Italiana ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri) June 29, 2024

Swiss fans do the Ruefer

Swiss fan march through Berlin

25,000 Swiss in Berlin - and no one is skeptical

Marcel Reif: "Yakin did everything right"

The Scottish cult fans are now Switzerland supporters

How Zubi predicts the round of 16

Hello and welcome ...

... to the round of 16 clash between Switzerland and Italy. Kick-off is at 6 pm in Berlin. More than 25,000 fans are in the city. So it simply has to work out with the victory. We're keeping our fingers crossed in any case.

90.+3.

End of 2nd half

90.+2.

Substitution in Switzerland