The national teams of Switzerland and Germany became the first quarter-finalists of Euro 2024
The national teams of Switzerland and Germany became the first quarterfinalists of Euro 2024. This was reported by a Lenta.ru correspondent.
The Swiss defeated the Italians and will play the winner of the England-Slovakia match in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal match will take place on July 6.
In their quarter-final, which will take place on July 5, the Germans will meet the winner of the 1/8 final match between the national teams of Spain and Georgia.
The Italian national team sensationally crashed out of Euro 2024, losing to Switzerland
The current European champions, the Italians, lost their chance to defend their title, losing to Switzerland in the 1/8 finals of Euro 2024. The meeting took place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin and ended with a victory for the Swiss with a score of 2:0.
The first goal was scored in the 37th minute. After a pass from Ruben Vargas, Remo Freuler controlled the ball and shot into the near corner of Gianluigi Donnaruma’s goal. The Swiss doubled their lead immediately after the break – in the 46th minute, Vargas himself scored. The striker managed a precise shot into the top corner from a long distance.
Ruben Vargas
Photo: Ariel Schalit/AP
The Italians have not reached the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time since 2004, when they failed to advance from the group. In 2008, the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals, in 2012 they reached the final, in 2016 they again stopped competing in the quarter-finals, and in 2021 they became the champions of the continent. At the same time, before 2016, the teams participating in the Euro reached the quarter-finals of the tournament immediately after the group stage.
The Swiss team made it to the quarterfinals at the second Euro in a row. At the previous tournament, the Swiss beat the French in the 1/8 finals, and lost to the Spaniards in the quarterfinals.
Head coach of the Italian national team Spalletti took responsibility for the defeat
The head coach of the Italian national team, Luciano Spalletti, discussed the reasons for the defeat and took responsibility for the result.
Have we seen the best Italian performance these players could produce? I don’t know. I didn’t have much time to get to know them better
“If you look at the previous coaches of the national team, almost each of them had about 20 matches to try different things, to experiment. A few more matches wouldn’t hurt me. But one way or another, I still bear responsibility,” the coach said in an interview with Sky Sport Italia.
Spalletti took over the Italian national team in the summer of 2023, replacing Roberto Mancini. Under his leadership, the team successfully qualified for the 2024 European Championship.
Luciano Spalletti
Photo: Antonio Calanni / AP
Footballers apologize to fans, Italian coach Carrera criticizes team
The Italian national team players did not hide their emotions after the final whistle; many cried. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was the first to apologize to the fans.
“It hurts to go out like this, we apologize to everyone. Today we disappointed, the opponent deserved to win. It was difficult for us the whole game. In the first half we lost the ball too often, we left Switzerland a lot of space. It was a very difficult match, it will be difficult to digest. Did we lack courage? We lacked everything in this game, including quality. We have to accept this, we disappointed,” Tutto Mercato quotes Donnarumma as saying.
Italy defender Matteo Darmian admitted that he was disappointed with the result. “We had the desire and the opportunity to do better, but unfortunately we did not manage to do so. Now it is right to take responsibility for the result and face the failure. We must apologise to everyone. That is all I can say now,” Darmian told Sky Sport Italia.
Was this the biggest disappointment in my career? Losing is never pleasant, it’s hard. Unfortunately I have nothing to add
Italian coach Massimo Carrera, who previously worked at Spartak Moscow, criticized the national team.
“This is the weakest Italian team I have ever seen. I don’t know why, but they played without ideas and anger!” — Carrera said in a conversation with Sport24.
Germany reached the quarter-finals of the home Euro, beating Denmark
The second match of the game day was between the tournament hosts, the Germans and the Danes. The German team was considered the undisputed favorite and confirmed this status by winning confidently with a score of 2:0.
In the 48th minute, Danish defender Joachim Andersen was the quickest to finish off the ball and sent it into Manuel Neuer’s net. However, the goal was disallowed after VAR intervention due to offside. And just four minutes later, Andersen played with his hand in his own penalty area.
The penalty kick was converted by Kai Havertz. In the 68th minute, the final score was set by Jamal Musiala, who, after a pass from Nico Schlotterbeck, shot right into the far corner of Kasper Schmeichel’s goal.
In the quarterfinals, the Germans will play the winner of the match between the national teams of Spain and Georgia
Germany vs Denmark match stopped due to thunderstorm and hail
Before the match, a storm warning was issued in Dortmund. The prediction came true in the 35th minute of the match. The main referee of the match, Michael Oliver, promptly stopped the match after the first lightning appeared over the stadium and took the teams to the room under the stands.
A real storm raged over the Signal Iduna Park stadium. Lightning flashed in the sky, torrential rain turned into hail, and powerful streams of water fell from the roof of the arena on the fans.
Photo: Frank Augstein/AP
“Due to adverse weather conditions in Dortmund (thunder, lightning and heavy rain), it has been decided to suspend the 1/8 final match of Euro 2024 between Germany and Denmark. UEFA will announce the resumption of the match in the near future,” the official statement on the website of the Union of European Football Associations read.
It cleared up only after 25 minutes. Oliver allowed the teams to return to the field, but play did not resume immediately. Due to the long pause to prevent injuries, both the Germans and the Danes, under the guidance of physical training coaches, carried out full warm-ups. It did not help the Danes – the hosts of the tournament are going to the quarterfinals.
Source: Lenta
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