Switzerland lay down marker in dominant win over dismal Italy (2024)

That kicks off at 8pm, and you can follow the buildup with Daniel Zeqiri.

The holders are out of the European Championship. They went not with a bang, not even with a whimper. Switzerland were the better team throughout and scored two fine goals through Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas. The second goal came 27 seconds into the second half, after which Switzerland sat deep and invited Italy to show what they had. Alas, it was very little.

Switzerland will now play either England or Slovakia in the quarter-final in Dusseldorf. They were almost flawless and will fancy their chances whoever they meet.

Switzerland are playing with a back five now, defending deep and giving Italy nothing. They’ve been so impressive in both facets.

A quick break ends with Xhaka playing in Zuber, whose cross-shot flashes across the face. That was another terrific pass from Xhaka.

Scamacca, 20 yards out, smashes a bouncing ball into orbit.

Switzerland substitution Vincent Sierro and Kwadwo Duah come on for Ndoye and Embolo.

Double substitution for Italy Lorenzo Pellegrini and Andrea Cambiaso replace Darmian and Cristante.

Dimarco can’t be fit enough for even a cameo or he’d surely be on.

Scamacca hits the post! A great chance for Italy to change the mood. A lofted straight pass into the area was headed across goal by Retegui and stabbed against the post by Scamacca, just six yards out.

It’s a bad miss, though I think he was offside so it may not have counted.

Akanji loses the ball in a dangerous area, which leads to Chiesa winning a corner for Italy. Chiesa is starting to threaten a little bit.

The corner is headed away at the far post.

I don’t mean to single out one Italian player when they have largely all been very disappointing today, but what is Gianluca Scamacca actually offering in attack today?

The former West Ham United forward has mostly stood still, waiting for service that is yet to arrive. He has not exactly helped out his midfield without possession, and he has not exactly stretched the Switzerland defence, either.

Italy have dominated the ball since going 2-0 down, but that’s been with Switzerland’s permission. And they don’t really look like creating a chance. As I type that, a stat box pops up to tell us they haven’t had a shot on target.

For those who grew up slightly in awe of the Azzurri, this is painful to watch. That said, Switzerland have been outstanding.

At the other end, Cristante’s long-range shot is blocked by Akanji.

A few moments later, Mancini is booked for a foul on Rieder.

Italy were sluggish in the first half and the half-time team talk clearly had no impact. They can blame the heat, perhaps, but the honest truth is that one team looks to have a defined structure and cohesive plan, and one team does not.

Never rule out the Italians, of course. There is a long way to go. But we knew from the group stages that this is not a great Italy side, and they are proving it again in Berlin.

There is an argument to be made that Granit Xhaka has been one of the best midfielders in Europe over the past two seasons. Since he turned 30 in September 2002, he has:

• Played a fundamental role in Arsenal’s title charge in 22/23, scoring a career-high nine goals in all competitions
• Won the Bundesliga without losing a game with Bayer Leverkusen, starting all but two matches
• Scored the winning goal in the final of the German Cup
• Been named man of the match in two of the three group games at Euro 2024

He has been superb today, again, picking apart the Italian defence with his short and long-range passing. Italy either do not have a plan to stop him, or cannot execute that plan. The best player on the pitch.

That is a beautiful team goal and it has been coming for Switzerland. The better team since the first minute, they have dominated the ball and the territory. These are an organised group of players and they know what they are doing.

Italy have hardly been able to put any passes together in the opposition half. Perhaps we might see Jorginho, a more experienced string-puller, in the second half.

Fine save by Donnarumma! Aebischer (I think) spins a superb first-time pass round the corner to put Embolo through on goal. He opens his body to sidefoot a shot that is pushed away by Donnarumma, diving to his left. It was a good save but Embolo gave him a chance.

It looked offside in real time; replays showed Darmian, the left-back, was playing Embolo onside.

Xhaka threads a nice pass into Rieder on the edge of a crowded area. He slithers between two defenders but then misplaces his pass towards Embolo.

Switzerland have been very patient in possession.

Switzerland (3-4-2-1) Sommer; Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Ndoye, Freuler, Xhaka, Aebischer; Vargas, Rieder; Embolo.
Substitutes: Stergiou, Elvedi, Zakaria, Okafor, Steffen, Mvogo, Zuber, Zesiger, Sierro, Duah, Kobel, Shaqiri, Jashari, Amdouni.

Italy (4-3-3) Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Darmian; Cristante, fa*gioli, Barella; Chiesa, Scamacca, El Shaarawy.
Substitutes: Buongiorno, Gatti, Frattesi, Jorginho, Pellegrini, Raspadori, Vicario, Bellanova, Retegui, Zaccagni, Cambiaso, Folorunsho, Meret, Dimarco.

Referee Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

Switzerland Freuler, Xhaka, Rodriguez, Ndoye

Italy Donnarumma, Cristante, fa*gioli

Good afternoon from an extraordinarily sunny Berlin, where it is currently a quite unpleasant 29 degrees. A little bit too hot to be playing football, I’d say, but here we are nonetheless. It’s Switzerland v Italy and it has the potential to be a cracking game.

If you’re settling in to enjoy this one, be warned: you might be in for a long evening. Of Italy’s last 26 knockout matches at international tournaments, 15 have gone to extra time. That includes four of their last five matches. They are the masters of the two-hour match, although I can’t imagine any player is particularly keen for such a slog in this heat.

Italy have the bigger reputation on the international stage but this will certainly not be easy for Luciano Spalletti’s team, who have been rather average at this tournament so far.

Switzerland have lost only one game since the 2022 World Cup and there is a nice balance to their side, with Granit Xhaka controlling things in the middle. Xhaka was named player of the match in two of Switzerland’s three group games.

Rip it up and start again. Luciano Spalletti has changed more than half his team and switched to a back four. In come Gianluca Scamacca, Federico Chiesa, Bryan Cristante, Gianluca Mancini, Nicolò fa*gioli and Stephan El Shaarawy - but not Mattia Zaccagni, the hero against Croatia.

Out go Jorginho, Federico Dimarco (who isn’t fully fit), Lorenzo Pellegrini, Giacomo Raspadori, Mateo Retegui and the suspended Ricardo Calafiori.

Here’s what our man Sam Wallace thinks.

Switzerland vs Italy
The Swiss looked excellent against Germany and were minutes from a historic win. In captain Granit Xhaka they have one of the best players of the tournament so far. Italy may be short of stars but they had a strong spirit. This one should be close.
Predicted score: 2-1

Euro 2024 is about to get serious. Okay, okay, even more serious. The knockout stage begins this afternoon with Switzerland v Italy in Berlin. All 16 teams – even the favourites – know their tournament could end with Hitchco*ckian suddenness.

Italy have already thrust the knife into Croatia, who were going through until Mattia Zaccagni scored a majestic 98th-minute equaliser that ultimately kept Italy in the competition.

Switzerland suffered the reverse in their last group game when Niclas Fullkrug headed an injury-time equaliser for Germany. Had he not scored that goal, Italy would be playing Germany today.

The modesty of Italy’s performances in the group, where they were also hammered 1-0 by Spain, makes it easy to forget they are the defending champions. But they are in the better half of the draw, one in which most teams should aspire to at least the semi-finals. That certainly applies to Switzerland, who were excellent at times in the group stage and have a textbook mix of experience and youth, brain and brawn.

“We’ve had a full week of training,” said their manager Murat Yakin. “Everyone is available for selection (apart from the suspended Silvan Widmer), there’s an excellent mood in the camp, and we have a really full heart to make it as far as we can.”

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti is under far more pressure. “We have to do more than we have done so far to make the Italian people proud,” he said. “The draw put us in a tough group and the players struggled with that. Now I expect to see the players a little more relaxed because it’s a knockout match. There are no permutations; the time is now.”

Just one more thing: the winner of this game will play England or Slovakia in the quarter-finals.

Kick off 5pm.