Switzerland vs Italy: Switzerland seek revenge, Italy aiming for redemption
Switzerland and Italy will have different goals in mind when the two familiar opponents kick off the round of 16 at this summer’s European Championships. For La Nati, revenge definitely will be on their minds, as this will be the second consecutive competition that they are facing Italy. Back at the last iteration of this tournament, Switzerland were humiliated as Italy cruised to a 3-0 win in the group stages. Although they managed to get to the knockout rounds where they beat France on spot-kicks, they were knocked out, once again on spot kicks, by Spain in the quarter-finals.
Compared to the last Euros, Switzerland have overall been much better this time around. Murat Yakin’s side kicked things off with a well-deserved 3-1 win over Hungary, but slipped up as they were held to a one-all draw against Scotland on matchday two. In their final group stage match, Switzerland managed to shock hosts Germany as they seized a 1-0 lead. For large spells of the game, it appeared that La Nati would really upset the odds to seize top spot in Group A, but it was not to be, as Niclas Fullkrug, who has become a sort of cult hero thanks to his knack of scoring vital goals, popped up off the bench to spare Germany’s blushes and secure a point for die Mannschaft.
Meanwhile, Italy, who came into this contest as reigning champions, will be desperate to redeem themselves after a very disappointing group stage campaign. The Azzurri were given a huge shock after conceding in just seconds against Albania, but were able to claw their way back into that match to secure a crucial 2-1 victory. Luciano Spalletti’s men arguably were placed in one of the toughest groups at this summer’s competition, with Spain and Croatia their opponents on matchdays two and three.
Given how Spain have performed so far at this summer’s competition – with La Roja cruising to a 3-0 win over Croatia on matchday one – many expected Italy to face a stern test on matchday two, and they certainly did. However, the Azzurri were mostly able to keep the three-time Euro winners at bay, with only an unfortunate own goal turning out to be the deciding factor to hand a 1-0 victory to Spain.
That loss meant that Italy would have to turn things around against Croatia, an opponent who were now desperately fighting to stay in the competition after picking up just one point from their first two matches against Spain and Albania. Predictably, once the Vatreni were able to go a goal up, they hung onto that lead for dear life, leaving Italy now as the side who looked set to be going home early. But as is the case in football, surprises are par for the course – and late subs really have proven to be the clutch players for various teams so far at this summer’s Euro tournament.
Mattia Zaccagni’s late goal after coming off the bench turned out to be the saving grace for Italy and their fans and a bitter blow for Croatia and their supporters. With four points, Italy had done just enough to squeak into the round of 16, but their job is far from done. Standing in their way is a Switzerland side who will be keen on getting some revenge following their 3-0 loss at the Euros three years ago, and this Switzerland team has shown that they are not afraid to bring the game to any of the heavyweights in this competition.
Italy’s propensity to concede first – they did so against Albania and Croatia – could be a real problem, as Switzerland will definitely be more than happy with hunkering down to hang on for a 1-0 defeat. At this stage, it doesn’t matter if a team wins 1-0 or 4-3 – a result is a result, and that is something that the Azzurri will need to keep in mind if they want to make it to the quarter-finals and perhaps beyond. Depending on how things go, it’s possible that Italy could end up facing Spain again at some point – as they did so back in at the 2012 UEFA EURO tournament – but for now, Spalletti’s troops will need to get into another gear in order to show observers that they deserve to be taken seriously as contenders for the title this summer.
