In hindsight – and really, only in hindsight – this was how it was always going to end. We still believed, and they still believed, because this was Italy, and for all their foibles and frailties, that name and that crown still count for something. But scarcely can a crown have weighed more heavily. The defending champions are out, and most crushingly they barely threw a punch in the process.
By the end, perhaps the most damning indictment of Luciano Spalletti’s team was that it didn’t even feel like a shock. Switzerland were not just better but braver, not just quicker but slicker, squeezing Italy’s weak spots with a sadistic relish, Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas with the goals either side of half-time. Italy were overwhelmed for the first hour of this game, and by the last half-hour, when they were finally able to string a few passes together, who cared?
Written by Jonathan Liew at Olympiastadion Berlin
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/article/2024/jun/29/switzerland-italy-euro-2024-match-report under the title “Switzerland outclass Italy to reach last eight and end the torment for Spalletti”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
