Great game from the Swiss team, who opened with Freuler and doubled the lead at the start of the second half with Vargas. For Italy only two poles.
The Italian European Championship ends in Berlin: Switzerland deservedly beat the reigning champions Italy with a score of 2-0, earning passage to the quarter-finals where they will face England or Slovakia, on the pitch tomorrow.
Switzerland is better
Difficult first quarter of an hour for the Azzurri, unable to keep the ball but also unable to restart in a fluid manner given the very high pressing of the Swiss players.
And also worrying given the condition of Nicolò Barella, who took a knock and limped for a few minutes but gritted his teeth and continued to play.
It is the Swiss who hold the ball the most (up to 65% percentage) and create the first scoring opportunity: a deep ball for Breel Embolo who sprints on the edge of offside and appears in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma who makes a great save.
Italy suffers and fails to react to the Swiss pressure, lacking in creativity, courage, serenity and also imprecision in the exits with the ball at their feet. The goal is in the air and promptly arrives in the 37th minute with Remo Freuler, who enters the area and pierces the Italian goalkeeper on his post.
Before the break Giovanni Di Lorenzo also got hurt, but Switzerland had time to put the Italian defense in danger again by taking a external pole with a free kick from a tight angle by Fabian Rieder.
Immediate doubling
A few seconds into the second half and Switzerland doubles their lead: Ruben Vargas, all alone in the blue area, invents a great goal that weighs heavily on the blues’ comeback. Meanwhile, Mattia Zaccagni on the pitch for Stephan El Shaarawy.
Shortly after, Italy was almost honoured with a gift from Fabian Schar, who took the palo to Yann Sommer beaten. But the score of the match does not change, with Switzerland still in control of the game and Italy stunned, at the mercy of their opponent.
Luciano Spalletti shortly after the hour mark brings in Mateo Retegui for Nicolò Barella, Murat Yakin almost immediately makes a counter move by bringing in Steven Zuber and Leonidas Stergiou, covering himself a bit. Shortly after, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Andrea Cambiaso and Davide Frattesi also come on for Italy, Vincent Sierro and Kwadwo Duah for Switzerland.
The third palo of the day, the second for the Azzurri, was the work of Gianluca Scamacca, who from a few steps away and in a dubious position was unable to overcome Yann Sommer.
But it’s too little to worry the Switzerland seen today on the pitch of the Olympiastadion, who practically never took any risks during the last timid Italian assault.
Euro 2024 therefore ends after just four matches: a sad but inevitable epilogue given what the Spalletti squad showed, who today were called to their first real test of strength.
