After a short pause, Euro 2024 comes to life with the start of the knockout stage. The round of 16 will kick off with theItaliawhich will be faced on Saturday 29th June at 6pm Switzerland.
Italy-Switzerland: how the two teams arrive
Ahead of Saturday’s match, moods are mixed. Italy presents itself in Berlin, which also evokes memories of the 2006 World Cup, with many doubts, after being saved thanks to Zaccagni’s late equalizer against Croatia and the excellent performances of the Donnarumma-Bastoni-Calafiori trio (who will also miss the match due to disqualification). Switzerland, on the other hand, shows a lot of confidence. “We are in a good mood, we are unpredictable and we will try to get something out of this match,” said coach Murat Yakin. “The great intensity and desire to run have made us strong lately.”
In short, if on paper and by name we are favourites, the performances and results in the group matches say otherwise. We achieved qualification at the last gasp, struggling in terms of play; the Swiss finished unbeaten and came close to qualifying as top of the group (had Niclas Füllkrug not equalized in the 91st minute, the eighth would have been Italy-Germany). Furthermore, our opponents know each other very well on the pitch: the starting line-up has been more or less the same for three years, with the blocking of the Bologna players, to which are added many other faces from our Serie A (six players in total, nine if we also include those who have passed through it in previous years).
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The previous ones say Italy (but not the most recent ones)
If in absolute terms we are clearly ahead in the previous 61 (Switzerland is the team we have faced the most times ever), with 29 wins, 24 draws and 8 defeats, the situation is different if you look at the recent past (after all, 47 of the 61 matches were played before 1990) . By virtue of the double draw in the World Cup qualifiers in Qatar, in September and November 2021, with the two penalties missed by Jorginho, Italy, European champions, lost direct qualification and ended up in the play-offs, where they lost in Palermo with Macedonia. It should not be forgotten, however, that Italy-Switzerland also took place during the last European Championship, and ended 3-0 for us.
The possibility that the match will go beyond the 90th minute should not be underestimated: six of the last eight direct confrontations have ended in a draw.
Italy-Switzerland: the comparison between the most valuable squads and players
The economic value of roses, in any case, rewards abundantly for Italy. The Azzurri, second Transfer market, are worth almost three times the Swiss: 705.5 million euros against 281.5. The same is true if we look at the data of the Cieswhich gives Italy a score of 78.8, compared to Switzerland’s 72.6.
The gap is also evident when examining the values of the most valuable players in the two squads. In fact, looking at the top 5, we find four Italians and two from the Swiss team (there is a equally fifth place):
- Nicolò Barella: 80 million euros
- Alessandro Bastoni: 70 million euros
- Federico Di Marco: 45 million euros
- Manuel Akanji: 45 million euros
- Gianluigi Donnarumma and Gregor Kobel: 40 million euros
READ ALSO: “Who are the most valuable footballers at Euro 2024”
How much is the passage to the quarter-finals worth?
As expected from the prize money put up for grabs by UEFA, Italy-Switzerland will not only have a sporting value, but also an economic one. The passage to the quarterfinals, in fact, will guarantee a check for 2.5 million euros that will be added to the sums already collected by the two national teams. Here Switzerland is ahead: 12.75 million euros against 12.25.
Beyond football
Looking beyond football, Italy-Switzerland also says much more. Especially in terms of work. According to the latest data, dating back to the first quarter of 2024, released by the Federal Statistics Office – Swiss labor and employment section – there are 92,680 Italian cross-border commuters working in Switzerland, an increase of 2.3% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023.
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