European Football Championship - Defending champions Italy suffer a debacle - elimination against Switzerland
The players apologized to the fans with a bowed head as Gianluigi Buffon stared blankly into space. A completely outmatched Italy deservedly lost to the Swiss in the EURO 2020 round of 16, with a score of 0:2 (0:1) in front of 68,172 spectators in Berlin. The team coached by Luciano Spalletti was fortunate not to lose by a greater margin.
Remo Freuler (37th minute) and Ruben Vargas of Augsburg decided the game for the German group stage opponent, whose players hopped around in euphoria to the EURO hit "Freed from Desire" after the final whistle. Switzerland will face the winner of the England vs. Slovakia match in the quarterfinals on July 6 in Düsseldorf.
For Italy, the road home begins. "We lacked the rhythm and freshness that made the difference. We're not capable of showing more than that right now," admitted Italy coach Spalletti after the disappointing performance and announced a conversation with FIGC president Gabriele Gravina about his future. "The responsibility lies with the coach, I made the decisions," said Spalletti.
Italy's EURO 2024 is over
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma spoke candidly. "It hurts to be eliminated like this. The defeat was deserved and hard to accept. Everything was missing today, the quality, the courage," said the 25-year-old, adding dejectedly: "We can only apologize to our fans. This is unacceptable, we were poor throughout the game. We have to accept reality."
The mood was completely different among the winners. "We've put in another great performance and deserved to advance," said team captain Manuel Akanji. And midfielder Fabien Rieder was elated: "We've given an incredible performance as a team. Everyone ran for everyone. Our mechanisms were great, we harmonized well, defensively and offensively. Now we want to enjoy the win, but won't get carried away."
Eighteen years after the 2006 World Cup triumph, the Italians returned to Berlin full of anticipation - and experienced a massive disappointment. The Squadra Azzurra was inferior in all aspects and suffered their first loss to Switzerland since 1991. The exciting football that Italy played to win the EURO 2021 and beat Switzerland 3:0 in the group stage was nowhere to be seen.
Spalletti's change had no effect
Italy failed to make it to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004 in an EURO and reached another low point after missing out on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Switzerland impressed once again, as they had in the 1:1 against the DFB team in the group stage, and qualified for the EURO quarterfinals for the second year in a row. The team led by former Bundesliga professional Murat Yakin earned their victory with a focused performance in front of FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UEFA CEO Aleksander Ceferin.
Spalletti changed tactics again after the disappointing 1:1 against Croatia, switching formations and positions multiple times. He justified this in part by the hope for more offensive impact. However, his measures had no effect - on the contrary.
Faults, misunderstandings and too many ball losses marked the offensive play of Azzurri, a well-structured game setup hardly came about. Switzerland dominated the game, but utilized the helplessness of the deep-lying Italians barely. A shot from Breel Embolo after a pass from Leverkusen's Granit Xhaka was parried strongly by Captain Donnarumma (24.). The Keeper was once again a secure backup and encouraged his teammates with gestures.
Freuler's botched shot was still within reach ten minutes later, but he couldn't prevent the deficit. Donnarumma then deflected a free-kick from Rieder (45.+1) just onto the post. Spalletti stood helplessly at the sideline with his hands in his pockets and watched the action unfold apathetically.
Spalletti made substitutions at half-time, but nothing improved for Italy. Just 27 seconds after the restart, Vargas was barely attacked near the goal and shot beautifully from the penalty area into the right upper corner. The Swiss only had to tense up briefly for a header from Fabian Schär at their own goalpost (52.) and a post shot from Gianluca Scamacca (74.). The Italians now had more ball possession, but were far from the equalizer.
- Despite the disappointing outcome, Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma expressed his desire to participate in EURO 2024, expressing his hope for a better performance.
- Switzerland, following their victory against Italy, is set to face the winner of the England vs. Slovakia match in the EURO 2020 quarterfinals in Düsseldorf on July 6.
- The German football community celebrated fiercely after the round of 16 victory against their fellow Group Stage opponent Italy, singing along to the EURO hit "Freed from Desire."
- Luciano Spalletti, coach of the Italian team, announced his intention to hold a conversation with Gabriele Gravina, FIGC president, regarding his future plans following the team's disappointing performance in the EURO 2020 round of 16.
- Remo Freuler, a Swiss midfielder from Augsburg, scored the opening goal in the 37th minute, effectively deciding the outcome of the EURO 2020 round of 16 match between Italy and Switzerland.
- Despite being inferior in various aspects, Italy was unable to overcome their defeat to Switzerland, marking the first time since 2004 that they failed to reach the quarterfinals of an EURO tournament.
- Team captain Manuel Akanji praised his Switzerland team for their strong performance during the round of 16 match against Italy, attributing their victory to their focused approach and collective effort.
- The Swiss squad, led by former Bundesliga professional Murat Yakin, was commended for their strategic and disciplined performance against Italy during the EURO 2020 round of 16, helping them secure a spot in the EURO quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
- Italy struggled to maintain the momentum they found in EURO 2021, with manager Luciano Spalletti feeling compelled to change tactics after their disappointing 1:1 against Croatia, ultimately achieving minimal results.
- In an attempt to improve their offensive output, Luciano Spalletti shifted formations and positions, but his changes had an adverse effect on the Italian team, causing more misunderstandings and too many ball losses on the attack.
