A pair of superb strikes for Switzerland by Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas sent defending champions Italy crashing out of Euro 2024 in the round of 16 after a sloppy, rudderless display by Luciano Spalletti’s side ended in a 2-0 defeat.

Though the Swiss defended well, the Italians made their job all the easier with bad passing and poor-decision-making, giving the ball away cheaply in central positions and failing to press with any vigour as they headed for the exit.

After a slow, tenuous start on a sweltering evening in Berlin, Switzerland should have taken the lead in the 24th minute when Breel Embolo was played in, but his attempt to wait out Gianluigi Donnarumma didn’t succeed and the Italian goalkeeper comfortably parried his curled shot.

It was an early warning of what was to come, however, and the Italians could not hold on to the ball at all in the first half with even the most perfunctory passes finding a red shirt, rather than a blue one.

The only bright spot for the Italians was Stephan El Shaaraway, who had a golden chance of his own in the 26th minute with a typical jinking run, but despite doing well to get the ball back onto his right foot, his shot was blocked for a corner and, bafflingly, he was withdrawn at halftime.

Looking far more like defending champions than their sluggish opponents, the Swiss breakthrough came in the 37th minute with brilliantly-worked goal as they pulled the Italians apart.

Michel Aebischer roamed into the middle of the pitch, opening space on the left for Vargas, and though his pin-point pass tested Freuler’s first touch, the midfielder hammered the ball home to send his side in ahead at the break.

Whatever Spalletti said at half-time did not have the desired effect and his side were two down within a minute, with Italy’s ponderous, flat-footed defence taking on a spectator’s role as Vargas curled a stunning shot into the top corner.

The Swiss almost threw the Italians a lifeline in the 51st minute as Fabian Schaer’s glancing defensive header wrong-footed his own keeper Yann Sommer, leaving him to watch helplessly as the ball bounced up and kissed the far post before being cleared.

With the clock ticking ominously, the Italian players seemed paralysed in the face of the stout Swiss defence, resorting to speculative long shots that did little to trouble Sommer.

The woodwork intervened again in the 74th minute as Gianluca Scammacca scuffed the ball onto the near post from close range but that was as close as Italy came, and their fans were streaming out of the stands long before the final whistle, with those left in their seats dumbstruck by their team’s insipid performance.

“That goal at the start of the second half cut our legs, we weren’t very incisive,” said Italian coach Spalletti after the game.

“What made the difference is the pace, we had a pace that was too inferior to them in the first half. Even in the individual players there was a different pace.”

As the game concluded, the Swiss fans bounced and sang, knowing that their side would be going on to meet the winner of Sunday’s tie between England and Slovakia in Duesseldforf next Saturday.

“The feeling is great because we showed a really good performance. We showed from the first second that we really wanted to win this game,” Swiss midfielder Fabian Rieder said.

“The spirit is incredible; everyone is happy, everyone runs for everyone else, and I think we showed that on the pitch,” Rieder added, a lesson the Italians would do well to learn as they limp out of the tournament.

-Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo narrowly avoided being hit by a fan who jumped from the crowd to get close to the soccer star when Portugal played Georgia at the European Championship on Wednesday.

A video widely circulated on social media shows someone leaping over the top of the players’ tunnel at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen as Ronaldo headed to the locker room.

A safety steward rushed to shield the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star and other security staff raced toward the fan, who fell away out of sight.

A bemused-looking Ronaldo stopped, but appeared to be unharmed. Portugal lost the game 2-0.

Portugal’s Football Federation confirmed the incident, but did not comment. European soccer’s governing body UEFA said it was aware of the incident and the fan was not injured.

Gelsenkirchen police said the matter was not part of its responsibility.

Ronaldo is one of the most famous sporting icons in the world with a massive fan base, which includes 632 million followers on Instagram and nearly 112 million on X.

During Portugal’s previous match against Turkey in Dortmund on Saturday he was confronted on the field by four supporters who wanted selfies.

Ronaldo posed for one with a young fan who evaded stewards to get on the field in the 69th minute, but looked frustrated when approached by more fans later in the game and after the final whistle.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez coach said after that game that the Al Nassr forward was fortunate not to have been harmed and raised concerns over his security.

“We all love a fan that recognizes the big stars and the big icons in their minds,” he said. “But you can understand it was a very, very difficult moment — if those intentions are wrong, the players are exposed and we need to be careful with that.”

UEFA have said safety and security in the stadium is the “ultimate priority” and that additional safety measures would be deployed to prevent selfie-seeking fans from entering the field.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo is widely-regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time alongside Lionel Messi, Pele and Diego Maradona.

He has won the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world on five occasions and is a six-time Champions League winner.

He now plays for Saudi Arabian team Al Nassr and reportedly earns up to $200 million a year.

Ronaldo is the first player to appear at six European Championships and while he is yet to score at this year’s tournament, he holds the record for the most goals at the Euros with 14.

He could also become the oldest player to score at a Euros – surpassing Luka Modric, who set a record with his goal for Croatia against Italy on Tuesday at the age of 38 years and 289 days.

Despite the shock loss to Georgia, Portugal advanced to the knockout phase of Euro 2024 and will play Slovenia in the round of 16 in Frankfurt on Monday.

-AP

The line-up for the round of 16 at the European Championship in Germany is complete.

Here is a quick guide to the eight games which get under way on Saturday.

SWITZERLAND v ITALY

June 29 – Berlin, 18:00

Switzerland impressed in the pool stages with their usual efficiency, while defending champions Italy stumbled into the last 16, though both teams were runners-up in their respective pools. The Swiss ousted France via penalties at this stage following a thrilling 3-3 draw in 2021 and will be similarly difficult to beat. Italy coach Luciano Spalletti feels his team are improving with each game, though. Five of the last six meetings between the sides have finished in draws and Switzerland’s last win over Italy was in 1993.

GERMANY v DENMARK

June 29 – Dortmund, 21:00

Hosts Germany topped Group A with seven points while Denmark advanced in second place in Group C despite drawing all three games. Germany have scored more goals (8), had more possession (64.3%) and the best passing accuracy (93%) of any side as they extended their unbeaten run to seven games. Denmark will be underdogs but reached the semi-finals three years ago, where they lost in extra time to England.

ENGLAND v SLOVAKIA

June 30 – Gelsenkirchen, 18:00

England limped through the pool stages and bar a strong opening against Serbia in their first game, looked underwhelming despite the array of attacking talent at manager Gareth Southgate’s disposal. They will view this as an excellent chance to advance but will find their fired-up opponents no pushovers. England managed only 10 attempts on target in their three pool games, scoring twice. That is not title-winning form. The teams last met in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers where England claimed 2-1 and 1-0 wins.

SPAIN v GEORGIA

June 30 – Cologne, 21:00

Spain were the most impressive team in the group stage with three wins, five goals scored and none conceded. They have reached the semi-finals at least in three of the last four Euros finals, winning the title in 2008 and 2012. Debutants Georgia surprised Portugal 2-0 to seal their last-16 place. Spain have won the last four meetings between the sides, all since 2021, including 7-1 and 4-0 victories.

FRANCE v BELGIUM

July 1 – Duesseldorf, 18:00

Belgium’s search for a first major international trophy has led them to a clash with the powerful French and coach Domenico Tedesco’s side having shown nothing in Germany to suggest this is a hurdle they can clear. France have not hit top gear either, though both teams had two clean sheets in the pool stage, suggesting their issues lie with attacking potency. That is surprising with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Kevin De Bruyne in their ranks. There have been 13 goals scored in the last three games between the teams.

PORTUGAL v SLOVENIA

July 1 – Frankfurt, 21:00

Portugal’s loss to Georgia in their final pool game came out of nowhere, ending a run of 12 consecutive victories in competitive fixtures since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. They still topped their pool and play a Slovenia team who advanced to the last 16 on the back of three draws, and who beat Portugal 2-0 in a friendly in March. No player in the tournament has had more attempts at goal than Cristiano Ronaldo (12) but he has yet to score.

ROMANIA v NETHERLANDS

July 2 – Munich, 18:00

There were contrasting emotions for these teams following the pool stages as Romania wildly celebrated a first place in the Euros knockouts since 2000 by topping Group E and Netherlands seethed as they slipped to a 3-2 defeat by Austria and finished third in their pool. The Dutch will hope to avoid a second successive last-16 exit having lost 2-0 to Czech Republic three years ago. They have won the last four meetings with Romania.

AUSTRIA v TURKEY

July 2 – Leipzig, 21:00

Austria won 6-1 when these teams met in a friendly in March but a determined Turkey will be a different proposition this time round. The Austrians were among the most impressive sides in the pool stages, even if they lost their opener 1-0 to France, and have momentum going into the knockout rounds. So do Turkey, but they were also soundly beaten 3-0 by Portugal five days ago. Only Scotland (7), Croatia (6) and Poland (6) conceded more goals than Turkey (5) in the pool stages.

-Reuters