Switzerland 2-0 Italy: Azzurri fail to retain Euro title | OneFootball

Italy’s quest to defend their European championship title ended in disappointment on Saturday, as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Switzerland in the Round of 16 of Euro 2024.

In their first major tournament under former Roma manager Luciano Spalletti, the loss marked the first time in two decades that the Azzurri have been eliminated before the quarterfinal stage.

Questions will be asked of the Tuscan technician after he made six changes to his starting eleven from last week. Italy appeared disjointed throughout the affair as they failed to string together passes or create scoring opportunities.

The Swiss ultimately secured a comfortable win with goals in each half from Bolgona midfielder Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas. The former found the back of the net just before half time, scoring with a low shot in the 37th minute.

Just moments after the break, Vargas underscored Switzerland’s dominance with a superb goal—curling the ball into the far corner of Gianluigi Donnarumma’s goal.

Displaying ruthless efficiency, Switzerland now await to learn their opponent in the quaterfinals, where they’ll face either England or Slovakia in Duesseldorf on July 6.