June 29 – The last time the current European Champions, Italy, graced the Olympic Stadion in Berlin, they ruled the world after beating France on penalty kicks to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. That match is best remembered for Zindine Zidane’s outrageous ‘Panenka’ penalty and of course, his headbutt into the chest of Marco Materazzi.
On a sun-baked Berlin evening with temperatures in the high 80s, the round of 16 kicked off with Switzerland attempting to achieve something they hadn’t managed in 31 years, and that was beat Italy.
Ninety convincing minutes later they had checked that box and more with a classy and deserved 2-0 win.
While not the loudest or fan-friendliest ground due to the running track around the pitch, the Olympic Stadium does carry the ghosts of history, and for the first ten minutes, this certainly spooked the Azzurri. They couldn’t get near the ball, chasing shadows and as a result gave away a series of cheap fouls that had Switzerland and their influential captain, Granit Xhaka, firmly on the front foot but without testing the Italian number one, Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Such was the dominance of the eleven in red, Luciano Spalletti’s team barely made it out of their own half, and it felt like a big opportunity was just one sharp pass away.
Remo Freuler opened the scoring for Switzerland
Swiss coach, Murat Yakin’s tactical press was suffocating the life out of the Italians, and in the 23rd minute, Breel Embolo should have opened the scoring. Instead, the big striker completely telegraphed his intentions and Donnarumma made a comfortable save diving to his left.
Ten minutes later, Switzerland finally made the breakthrough their intelligent football deserved. A slick passing move involving Ruben Vargas was beautifully finished off by a superb 3rd man run from Remo Freuler who volleyed beyond Donnarumma after a delightful first touch.
The response from the champions was muted, in fact, silent other than a horror…
Source link : https://www.insideworldfootball.com/2024/06/29/swiss-give-italians-lesson-style/
Author : Paul Nicholson
Publish date : 2024-06-29 20:10:42
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