The first knockout game of EURO2024 provided viewers with all the thrills and spills that we have come to expect from this electric tournament, complete with an upset as the Swiss underdogs dominated a lackadaisical Italy.
Switzerland came out swinging almost immediately, piling pressure onto an Italian defence that didn’t appear to know their respective roles, failing to keep up with Switzerland’s fast rotations and runners. It was only a matter of time before Murat Yakin’s side got their goal, through a gorgeous quick move started by Manuel Akanji, which eventually fell to the composed feet of Remo Freuler in front of goal.
Half time must have felt like a gift from the heavens for an Italian side desperately overwhelmed by a relentless opponent, symbolising a chance for them to breathe and attempt to assert control on the game after a fresh start. That chance lasted under 30 seconds, as an errant ball from Nicolò Fagioli gifted Switzerland possession, practically from kickoff, before an outstanding finish from range courtesy of Rubén Vargas doubled their lead. The Italians never recovered, making their exit from the competition after a sluggish second half.
Switzerland
Yann Sommer – 7
My biggest gripe about Switzerland is that they never seem to get the best out of their incredible quality and depth in the goalkeeping position. Why? Because with a defence like theirs, the goalkeepers have almost nothing to do. Sommer made just one save during the match, but kept a clean sheet, moved the ball well, and controlled his box when facing Italian crosses, about all he could have done in the face of Italy’s impotent attack.
Dan Ndoye – 8
Ndoye replaced the underwhelming Widmer in the starting right wing-back role for Switzerland, his pace and hunger to push his team forward quickly making him a nightmare for the opposition defenders. Darmian especially was thoroughly outclassed in their duel. Ndoye began to drift across the pitch as his side exerted control over possession, playing the ball to Vargas on the left side, who found Freuler in the box for their first goal.
Fabian Schär – 8
The Newcastle United defender looked as composed as ever defending the Swiss right side, an impressive feat considering Ndoye spent so much of the game around the opposition box, leaving Schär a tad exposed in moments. His only concerning moment came when a defensive header, under no pressure, looped menacingly towards his own goal before bouncing off the outside of the right post. This was but a small mark on a stellar performance.
Manuel Akanji – 8
Akanji was once again exemplary as the middle defender in a back three, keeping the ball moving in possession and demonstrating a near supernatural ability to read the game as he denied Italy time and time again. From the goal line to his opponent’s half, Akanji hindered Italy across the pitch, allowing his team to box them in and force amateur mistakes under pressure. It was like the Swiss had 5 centre-backs on the field.
Ricardo Rodriguez – 9
Just as defensively impressive as his colleagues, Rodriguez shone brighter still in his ability to get his team moving forward again quickly after turnovers. As soon as he received the ball he would look forward, playing diagonal balls to his midfielders and striker in central areas, or lofting pinpoint diagonals to his opposite side’s wing back. Rodriguez even found possession for himself on the left side of Italy’s box, getting forward but never getting caught out.
Michel Aebischer – 9
Aebischer maintained his form with another fantastic performance on Switzerland’s left flank. His assist for Vargas’ goal will be the easiest he ever gets, but it was certainly deserved as he shuttled up and down the line incessantly. He moved the ball quickly to his inside teammates, overlapped to pull apart defensive structures, and spoiled Italy’s build up when out of possession.
Remo Freuler – 8
Freuler was once again immense, outclassing an opposition midfield that many viewed as technically superior. His positioning was spot on in both directions, allowing his side to win possession high and then profit from his runs into dangerous areas, the most obvious example being his front post finish for their first goal. Switzerland’s ability to get him into these zones, without becoming vulnerable to the counter, will be key in the quarter finals.
Granit Xhaka – 8
What can I say about Xhaka that isn’t already common knowledge? The Swiss captain absolutely bossed the midfield yet again, releasing his attacking options ahead of him with elite pass selection and execution. He thrived in a Switzerland side which held sustained possession, allowing him the time to dictate his teammates’ attacks, time which he has been denied in other games in this tournament.
Fabian Rieder – 7
Rieder has the lowest score of Switzerland’s starters but by no means did he have a poor performance. He played a lot of his football in the half spaces around Italy’s box, a more narrow position that dragged Darmian inside and allowed Ndoye to drive down the wing. When receiving in these tight half spaces Rieder demonstrated good close control and threatened to cut through the Italian lines, but ultimately lacked the impact of his compatriots.
Rubén Vargas – 9
Outstanding. Vargas came into this game having demonstrated so many potential threats in the preceding games of the tournament, but he was yet to combine them with the decision making and quality that would turn them into goal contributions. Not today. His position on the corner of Italy’s box allowed him to put a measured ball into the path of Remo Freuler for his goal, before adding one of his own with a spectacular finish from range. He was so dangerous cutting inside and will prove to be a man to fear in the quarters.
Breel Embolo – 7
Embolo once again showed his ability to lead the line with his hold up play, but lacked the finishing touches that could have made this performance one to remember. Despite his flick on leading to his side’s first goal, Embolo was wasteful in good positions, including a one on one with Donnarumma that he really should have finished.
Substitutes
Leonidas Stergiou – 6
Stergiou didn’t get the chance to make too much of an impact, being brought on as a defender to see out Switzerland’s comfortable lead. Yakin had probably assumed he would be ceding some of his side’s dominant possession with this substitution, but Italy could not capitalise at all, leaving Stergiou virtually unchallenged at the back after his 71st minute introduction.
Steven Zuber – 7
Coming on at the same time as Stergiou, Zuber found an easier time of making an impact, receiving possession on the left side on multiple occasions before driving at Italy’s tired defenders. These moves were not productive in terms of goal threat, but prevented Italy from boxing his side in and creating chances in the game’s late stages.
Vincent Sierro – 6
Sierro’s 76th minute introduction left him little time to make his mark, but he made no mistakes and saw the game out well, even finding himself in dangerous positions as Italy became more desperate and disorganised.
Kwadwo Duah – 6
Duah was the final attacker brought on for the Swiss, but by then they had resolved not to overcommit forward, and instead hold onto their two goal lead. Duah was isolated, and, barring a moment where it looked like he might have the beating of Bastoni in a foot race, had no real chances going forward.
Renato Steffen – N/A
Italy
Gianluigi Donnarumma – 7
An island of a high rating amidst a sea of 4s and 5s, Donnarumma kept his side in the contest after batting away a series of good strikes, especially Embolo’s one on one. His performance was slightly marred thanks to his antics in throwing himself to the ground next to Ndoye, before exchanging some unflattering words with the Swiss player despite his apparent innocence.
Giovanni di Lorenzo- 4
The combination of Vargas, Aebischer and even Rodriguez proved far too much for Di Lorenzo, who seemed to lose almost every duel on his right side of the box. This combined with an egregious lack of awareness in not closing down Vargas for his goal meant that Di Lorenzo might as well have laid out the red carpet towards goal for the Swiss attackers.
Alessandro Bastoni – 5
Marginally better than his other defenders, Bastoni made no huge positional errors and was solid when facing down take on attempts. Going forward, however, he embodied Italy’s sheepishness when staring down Switzerland’s defensive structure, refusing to attempt to play through the lines in favour of passing sideways, even when they had nothing to lose.
Gianluca Mancini – 4
Mancini looked as nervous as his defensive partners all game, summarised by his awful play preceding Switzerland’s first goal. He was late to step out and engage Embolo as he received the ball, with Ndoye exploiting the space that he left behind to work the ball out wide. Mancini had time to reset, but still failed to pick up the run of Freuler in the box before he tucked it away. An obvious weakness in an already poor defence.
manciniMatteo Darmian – 4
Darmian could not keep up with his Swiss opponents at all, being outplayed by Dan Ndoye completely. He came narrow in an attempt to counter the sheer numbers that Switzerland had in the box, but this just created more avenues into dangerous areas for the Nati out wide. All at sea defensively with virtually no attacking upside to negate it.
Bryan Cristante – 4
Struggled to play through Switzerland in transition, giving up possession in dangerous situations and failing to contain Switzerland’s left side. He appeared to vent his growing frustrations with a bizarre effort at goal despite having options on both sides.
Nicolò Fagioli – 5
Fagioli did a deceptively good job as a deep lying playmaker in the first half, creating some of his side’s only promising moments through his link up with his wingers. This promise dropped away as his over eagerness to get his side back into contention resulted in an unpressured mistake, gifting Switzerland possession inside twenty seconds of the second half, and directly leading to their final goal.
Nicolò Barella – 4
To his credit, Barella covered a lot of ground in his 63 minutes on the field, before a knock and a yellow card stunned the creative midfielder into passivity. Manager Luciano Spaletti seemed to agree about his ineffectual performance, as he was hooked as part of his side’s second substitution.
Federico Chiesa – 6
The only starting outfielder who can hold his head up after that performance, Chiesa pressed relentlessly even as hope was lost. He covered so much ground and was one of the few Italians brave enough to attempt to take on his man, even if he rarely got the better of Switzerland’s strong defenders.
Stephan El Shaarawy – 4
El Shaarawy attempted no shots and just 10 passes in his time on the pitch, seasoning his lacklustre attacking output with a rash yellow card in his attempts to defend. It is unsurprising that he was switched out at half time.
Gianluca Scamacca – 3
I wouldn’t have been able to tell you that Scamacca was on the pitch had it not been for the commentary repeatedly pointing out how toothless he had been. How someone of his physical size goes so thoroughly missing is a mystery. When a 9 fails to impact a game, one tends to hope that at least they will show their worth when they get a clear cut chance, but even this wasn’t the case as he stabbed wide from point blank range. No hunger or quality on the pitch.
Substitutes
Mattia Zaccagni – 7
Zaccagni marked himself as a saviour of Italy in his last match, scoring late against Croatia to send his side to this stage of the competition. It was no surprise, then, to see him called upon at the beginning of the second half. He troubled his defenders and managed to get crucial balls into the box, which a better attack might have challenged for. A genuinely good performance standing out in the rough.
Mateo Retegui – 6
Retegui was brought on as a forward option alongside Scamacca, and demonstrated that possession in dangerous areas was there if you worked for it. Retegui was direct whenever he got the chance, a level of grit that showed a few of his compatriots up, even if he was lacking cutting edge
Lorenzo Pellegrini – 5
Couldn’t do too much in his 16 minutes on the pitch, but did dictate a lot of his side’s possession when he was on. Sadly this possession was too casual, and too relaxed, failing to push his side forward towards a chance at a comeback.
Andrea Cambiaso – 6
Didn’t make any mistakes after his introduction late on in the game, and seemed eager to make a challenge and get on the ball.
Davide Frattesi – N/A
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