By Sergio Silva
Jun 29, 2024, 3:26 PM EDT
The round of 16 of the Euro Cup Germany 2024 They opened the curtain this Saturday with the surprising but equally convincing victory achieved by Switzerland (2-0) against the current champion of the competition, the Italian National Team, which says goodbye leaving a poor image.
The Swiss team, after securing its qualification for this stage after a valuable draw against the powerful Germany (1-1) at the close of the group stage, finished showing that it is up for great things with a resounding victory at the Olympic Stadium. of Berlin.
A great performance by Rubén Vargas, who provided the assist for the first goal of the match, scored by Remo Freuler (m.37) and then scored the goal that put the final figures on the scoreboard (m.46), gave the important victory to a Switzerland that is already in the quarter-finals.
“That goal at the start of the second half cut our legs short, we were not very incisive. The difference was made by the pace, which was much lower than theirs in the first half.”commented Italian coach Luciano Spalletti after the defeat in the round of 16.
The Swiss dominated the game and it was not until the 52nd minute that the Italians managed to create any real danger in the Swiss box. Manchester City centre-back Manuel Akanji came very close to scoring an own goal when he headed the ball back against the post.
“We need more rhythm, more consistency, more sacrifice. “We have not arrived at this Euro Cup in exceptional conditions and doing everything at this temperature is not easy, but something definitely has to change.”the coach of the Italian team apologized.
With this victory the Swiss National Team broke a long streak against the Italians whom they had not been able to beat since the European qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup. According to data from Mister Chip, in their last six games there were five draws and now finally victory came.
The Swiss national team will now be waiting in the quarter-finals for the winner of the round of 16 clash between England and Slovakia on Sunday. The quarter-final will be played on Saturday, July 6, at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf.
Following Italy’s elimination, Euro 2024 Germany will have a new king on the Old Continent, with Germany, France, Spain and Portugal as the top candidates to be crowned champions at this event.
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