Dominant Switzerland lay down England marker with systematic dismantling of Italy

Yeah, so about England having a favourable passage to the final. If Gareth Southgate’s side manage to navigate their way past Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday - and the if is doing some heavy lifting there - then Switzerland will lie in wait in the quarter-finals and anyone thinking that will be straight forward has evidently not been paying attention here in Germany.

With the exception of Spain, few teams have looked quite as sophisticated as the Swiss in this tournament. Yes, they were a bit clunky against Scotland but the performances against Hungary and hosts Germany were impressive and now we have this: a systematic dismantling of the defending European champions.

Okay, three years on from beating England in the delayed Euro 2020 final at Wembley, Italy are a bit of a mess. But that should not detract too much from the way Switzerland, inspired by their captain and metronome Granit Xhaka, goalscorers Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas and the electric Dan Ndoye, took the Azzurri apart.

All the traits England have seemed to be lacking in Germany: balance, poise, clarity Murat Yakin’s team showcased in abundance and both of their goals – the first a beautiful 33-pass team move, the second a top corner bullet from Vargas – underlined their goal threat.

All the traits England have seemed to be lacking in Germany: balance, poise, clarity, Murat Yakin’s team showcased in abundance and both of their goals - the first a beautiful 33-pass team move, the second a top corner bullet from Vargas - underlined their varied goal threat.

Yakin revealed his players had been shown a video before the game from the staff “who thanked the team for the wonderful emotions we’ve been able to share together” and the Switzerland coach said he hoped his squad would be able to return the favour should they prevail in next Saturday’s quarter-final in Dusseldorf.

“It’s important we won but it’s the way we won that is hugely rewarding,” Yakin said. “We’ll have a chance against England and the same goes for Slovakia but we focus on ourselves and won’t be distracted by our opponents. We sent out an important signal tonight - we showed we can attack and dominate proceedings.

“We showed right from the start we wanted to take charge and dominate and our opponents barely had a shot on goal. We have the right shape, we have the right game plan and we’re a good team, we showed that again here but we need to keep our feet on the ground and remain humble, which has underpinned us.

“We’ve achieved these results with blood, sweat and tears and not good luck and that’s crucial for our next match. I hope this is not the end of the road and we can continue to create history.”

Switzerland are a clever construct. Xhaka is having arguably the season of his career at 31 and, should England get past Slovakia, then they will need to make a far better fist of knocking the all seeing Bayer Leverkusen and former Arsenal midfielder out of his stride than Italy managed.

The game’s conductor, he was all line breaking passes and incisive balls and seemed to be infinitely available in the endless triangles Switzerland created all over the pitch.

Vargas and Ndoye offered cunning and running in behind Breel Embolo, Italy were stretched by the width provided by energetic wing backs Michel Aebischer and Fabian Rieder and, in defence, the redoubtable Manuel Akanji and Fabian Schar were towering figures. England, should they get that far, will have their work cut out.

Italy? Well, somewhat fittingly given his decision to include Nicolo Fagiolo, who only returned from a seven-month ban for betting violations five weeks ago, at the expense of Jorginho, Luciano Spalletti gambled with his starting XI. There were six changes and a switch to a back four but it only added to the chaos and confusion of a team short on quality, cohesion, pace, organisation and, troublingly, stamina.

They were outrun, outthought and outfought by superior opponents. This was the third successive match in which Spalletti has made a half-time substitution and, surveying the wreckage afterwards, admitted the entire thing needed ripping up if Italy were to realistically move forward.

England fans want Southgate to restore some balance to the side, which is precisely what Switzerland have.

Teams that lack balance and structure just don’t put together the sort of 33 pass move that the Swiss did here to open the scoring shortly before the half-time interval. It was a minor classic, a masterclass in patiently disorganising an opponent and then striking a speed and ruthlessness at the final moment from a group of players who all know their roles. Its denouement was sublime. Nicolo Barella failed to track the superb angled run of Freuler and, with his midfielder partner Fagioli missing it, too, Vargas punched a precise pass into his team-mate. Freuler’s first touch saw the ball spring up but he never lost his cool and connected cleanly on the volley, a nick off the inside right thigh of Gianluca Mancini helping the ball past Gianluigi Donnarumma at his near post.

Italy would have been out at the group stage but for their goalkeeper and only fine saves to deny Embolo one-on-one and then tip a wicked, bending free-kick from Aebischer on to a post prevented the Swiss from taking a more commanding lead into the second period.

When Vargas swept a fine finish into the top corner after a quick exchange of passes on the left seconds after the restart, the game was effectively over at that point.

England - or Slovakia - beware.

Switzerland brush Italy aside – as it happened

07:17 PM BST

Our man in Berlin

07:12 PM BST

Midfield maestro

07:05 PM BST

Next up: Germany v Denmark

That kicks off at 8pm, and you can follow the buildup with Daniel Zeqiri.

07:04 PM BST

Going home

07:00 PM BST

The two faces of knockout football

06:54 PM BST

FT: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

The holders are out of the European Championship. They went not with a bang, not even with a whimper. Switzerland were the better team throughout and scored two fine goals through Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas. The second goal came 27 seconds into the second half, after which Switzerland sat deep and invited Italy to show what they had. Alas, it was very little.

Switzerland will now play either England or Slovakia in the quarter-final in Dusseldorf. They were almost flawless and will fancy their chances whoever they meet.

06:50 PM BST

89 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy’s race is run. It’s been a sad, meek performance; if anything the scoreline flatters them, not Switzerland.

06:48 PM BST

87 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Pellegrini’s cross seems to hit the hand of Stergiou at the far post. Play continues for now. We haven’t seen a replay but there’s no word of a VAR intervention.

06:47 PM BST

86 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy substitution Davide Frattesi on, Nicolo Fagioli off.

06:46 PM BST

85 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Pellegrini shoots wastefully over the bar from 25 yards. Italy look beaten, and almost certainly are.

06:44 PM BST

83 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Switzerland are playing with a back five now, defending deep and giving Italy nothing. They’ve been so impressive in both facets.

A quick break ends with Xhaka playing in Zuber, whose cross-shot flashes across the face. That was another terrific pass from Xhaka.

06:41 PM BST

78 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

A Swiss corner is headed away to the edge of the area. Freuler spanks an instinctive half-volley high over the bar.

06:38 PM BST

77 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Scamacca, 20 yards out, smashes a bouncing ball into orbit.

Switzerland substitution Vincent Sierro and Kwadwo Duah come on for Ndoye and Embolo.

06:37 PM BST

75 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Double substitution for Italy Lorenzo Pellegrini and Andrea Cambiaso replace Darmian and Cristante.

Dimarco can’t be fit enough for even a cameo or he’d surely be on.

06:36 PM BST

74 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Scamacca hits the post! A great chance for Italy to change the mood. A lofted straight pass into the area was headed across goal by Retegui and stabbed against the post by Scamacca, just six yards out.

It’s a bad miss, though I think he was offside so it may not have counted.

06:34 PM BST

73 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy’s first shot on target is a tame 20-yarder from Retegui that dribbles through to Sommer.

06:32 PM BST

71 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Switzerland substitutions Leondias Stergiou and Steven Zuber, who got four assists at the last Euros, replace Vargas and Rieder.

06:31 PM BST

70 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Akanji loses the ball in a dangerous area, which leads to Chiesa winning a corner for Italy. Chiesa is starting to threaten a little bit.

The corner is headed away at the far post.

06:29 PM BST

68 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy continue to huff and puff to no great effect. They still haven’t had an attempt on target.

06:26 PM BST

65 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Xhaka combines well with Vargas and has a shot from the edge of the area that is blocked. Those two have been terrific, arguably the players of the match.

06:25 PM BST

64 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

I don’t mean to single out one Italian player when they have largely all been very disappointing today, but what is Gianluca Scamacca actually offering in attack today?

The former West Ham United forward has mostly stood still, waiting for service that is yet to arrive. He has not exactly helped out his midfield without possession, and he has not exactly stretched the Switzerland defence, either.

06:25 PM BST

64 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy substitution Mateo Retegui replaces Nicolo Barella, who battled on gamely after that early injury.

06:24 PM BST

63 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Federico Chiesa overhits an attempted through pass. He’s been so disappointing, and you do wonder whether Italy would have been better keeping him as an impact sub.

06:23 PM BST

61 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy have dominated the ball since going 2-0 down, but that’s been with Switzerland’s permission. And they don’t really look like creating a chance. As I type that, a stat box pops up to tell us they haven’t had a shot on target.

For those who grew up slightly in awe of the Azzurri, this is painful to watch. That said, Switzerland have been outstanding.

06:19 PM BST

57 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

At the other end, Cristante’s long-range shot is blocked by Akanji.

A few moments later, Mancini is booked for a foul on Rieder.

06:17 PM BST

55 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Rodriguez has a long-range shot blocked by Cristante. That slightly weird moment from Schar aside, Switzerland look so comfortable.

06:15 PM BST

52 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Schar hits the post! The Swiss post, that is. Fagioli clipped a fairly standard ball into the area that was met by Schar, facing his own goal. He tried to head it behind for a corner but was stretching and the ball swerved onto the post. Sommer was totally wrongfooted and wouldn’t have saved it.

06:12 PM BST

50 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy were sluggish in the first half and the half-time team talk clearly had no impact. They can blame the heat, perhaps, but the honest truth is that one team looks to have a defined structure and cohesive plan, and one team does not.

Never rule out the Italians, of course. There is a long way to go. But we knew from the group stages that this is not a great Italy side, and they are proving it again in Berlin.

06:11 PM BST

49 min: Switzerland 2 Italy 0

Italy look shell-shocked. It was always going to be very hard to come from 2-0 down, but the timing of that goal - 27 seconds after half-time - was savage.

06:07 PM BST

Goal!

Switzerland 2 Italy 0 (Vargas 46) Italy kick off, Switzerland score within 30 seconds! It was a lovely goal from Ruben Vargas, who has played so well on the left. He laid the ball off, then wandered infield to receive a square pass on the edge of the area. Vargas controlled the ball as it came across his body and then curled a spectacular shot across Donnarumma. Pick that out!

06:07 PM BST

46 min: Switzerland 1 Italy 0

Italy get the second half under way and immediately give the ball back to Switzerland.

06:06 PM BST

Half-time substitution

Mattia Zaccagni, the man who saved Italy against Croatia, has been invited to do so again. Stephan El Shaarawy is off.

05:55 PM BST

Xhaka the star man once again

There is an argument to be made that Granit Xhaka has been one of the best midfielders in Europe over the past two seasons. Since he turned 30 in September 2002, he has:

• Played a fundamental role in Arsenal’s title charge in 22/23, scoring a career-high nine goals in all competitions

• Won the Bundesliga without losing a game with Bayer Leverkusen, starting all but two matches

• Scored the winning goal in the final of the German Cup

• Been named man of the match in two of the three group games at Euro 2024

He has been superb today, again, picking apart the Italian defence with his short and long-range passing. Italy either do not have a plan to stop him, or cannot execute that plan. The best player on the pitch.

05:51 PM BST

HT: Switzerland 1 Italy 0

The holders Italy have been outplayed by Switzerland and could be out of the competition already. Remo Freuler scored a fine goal and Gianluigi Donnarumma made two vital saves.

05:49 PM BST

45 min: Switzerland 1 Italy 0

Rieder hits the post! The resulting free-kick is on the right wing, too wide for a shot. Or so we thought: Rieder whips a brilliant effort that so nearly catches out Donnarumma at the near post. He dives desperately across his line and just manages to push the ball against the post and away. That would have been a killer blow.

05:47 PM BST

45 min: Switzerland 1 Italy 0

El Shaarawy is booked for a late and fairly ugly tackle on Schar. “It’s like watching a Premier League team against a Championship team,” says Danny Murphy on the BBC.

05:46 PM BST

44 min: Switzerland 1 Italy 0

Italy aren’t at the races, and if they’re not careful this will be over before half-time. They are facing another miserable title defence to sit alongside 1950, 1972, 1986 and 2010.

05:42 PM BST

40 min: Switzerland 1 Italy 0

That is a beautiful team goal and it has been coming for Switzerland. The better team since the first minute, they have dominated the ball and the territory. These are an organised group of players and they know what they are doing.

Italy have hardly been able to put any passes together in the opposition half. Perhaps we might see Jorginho, a more experienced string-puller, in the second half.

05:42 PM BST

39 min: Switzerland 1 Italy 0

Italy have been behind in every game at this tournament.

05:38 PM BST

Goal!

Switzerland 1 Italy 0 (Freuler 37) Remo Freuler gives Switzerland a deserved lead! It was a well-worked goal. Vargas, who has been very good on the left, saw Freuler charging into the area unmarked and picked him out with a fast low cross. Freuler flipped the ball up on the run and smacked a left-foot volley that took a slight but crucial deflection off the lunging Mancini and beat Donnarumma at the near post.

05:37 PM BST

36 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Barella is booked for a foul on Xhaka. He wasn’t on a yellow card before the game, but he is now.

05:36 PM BST

35 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

A bit of possession for Italy, which they needed to give their defence a breather. Overall Switzerland have had 65 per cent possession and eight shots to Italy’s one.

05:33 PM BST

32 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Italy are being pinned back in their own half, sometimes their own third. Schar has a shot blocked, then Rodriguez whistles over the bar from distance.

05:30 PM BST

28 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Ndoye, playing at right wing-back today, has a shot blocked and then flashes an excellent ball across the face of goal.

05:29 PM BST

27 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Watching Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in action, you can’t help wonder how much of a psychological impact his size has upon his opponents. The 25-year-old is an extraordinarily big bloke (a broad 6ft 5in) and the goal must look horribly small when he is standing in it. It was a fine save to deny Embolo but it was hardly the most confident finish...

05:28 PM BST

26 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

At the other end Chiesa zig-zags past a couple of defenders in the area and slides a low shot that is put behind by Akanji in the six-yard box.

05:27 PM BST

24 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Fine save by Donnarumma! Aebischer (I think) spins a superb first-time pass round the corner to put Embolo through on goal. He opens his body to sidefoot a shot that is pushed away by Donnarumma, diving to his left. It was a good save but Embolo gave him a chance.

It looked offside in real time; replays showed Darmian, the left-back, was playing Embolo onside.

05:24 PM BST

22 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Xhaka threads a nice pass into Rieder on the edge of a crowded area. He slithers between two defenders but then misplaces his pass towards Embolo.

Switzerland have been very patient in possession.

05:22 PM BST

19 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Barella clips a very clever free-kick over the defence towards Di Lorenzo, who swings at fresh air as the ball drops over his shoulder. No matter: he was offside.

05:20 PM BST

18 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Shaaraway beats a couple of players and is sent up in the air by Xhaka. Italy are starting to play.

05:18 PM BST

16 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

A nice Italy move, their best so far, ends with Cristante winning their first corner. Fagioli swings it beyond the far post, where somebody (possibly El Shaarawy) mistimes a very awkward volley.

05:17 PM BST

15 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Barella is okay for now, so maybe it was thigh rather than hamstring that he was feeling. Italy need his work-rate in midfield because Switzerland are dominating.

05:15 PM BST

13 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Vargas scoots past Di Lorenzo and is studded in the thigh. Di Lorenzo had a miserable night against Spain’s Nico Williams and he’s already struggling against Vargas.

05:14 PM BST

13 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

It’s a good day to keep the ball — it’s stiflingly hot and there’s not any breeze in here, at all — and Switzerland have started impressively in that regard. In these first 10 minutes they have had 74 per cent of the ball. Unsurprisingly, much of their play is going through Xhaka.

05:13 PM BST

12 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Xhaka pings a sweet angled pass into the area for Ndoye, who mistimes his attempted volley. A very tough chance.

05:11 PM BST

9 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

After another spell of Swiss possession, Cristante leaves one on Aebischer and is penalised. Meanwhile Barella, a vital player for Italy, is down with what looks like a hamstring problem.

05:08 PM BST

6 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

A loose ball bounces kindly for El Shaarawy on the left edge of the box, but he completely misses his kick.

05:06 PM BST

4 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Vargas beats Di Lorenzo on the left and fizzes a dangerous cross that is headed away by Bastoni.

05:05 PM BST

3 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Switzerland have made a forceful start, with most of the early exchanges taking place in Italy’s half.

05:01 PM BST

1 min: Switzerland 0 Italy 0

Switzerland kick off on a sweltering evening in Berlin. Embolo has a speculative shot blocked by Bastoni after 14 seconds, and then Cristante inadvertently concedes a corner. It’s headed away by Mancini.

04:54 PM BST

A reminder of the teams, who are about to take the field

Switzerland (3-4-2-1) Sommer; Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Ndoye, Freuler, Xhaka, Aebischer; Vargas, Rieder; Embolo.
Substitutes: Stergiou, Elvedi, Zakaria, Okafor, Steffen, Mvogo, Zuber, Zesiger, Sierro, Duah, Kobel, Shaqiri, Jashari, Amdouni.

Italy (4-3-3) Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Darmian; Cristante, Fagioli, Barella; Chiesa, Scamacca, El Shaarawy.
Substitutes: Buongiorno, Gatti, Frattesi, Jorginho, Pellegrini, Raspadori, Vicario, Bellanova, Retegui, Zaccagni, Cambiaso, Folorunsho, Meret, Dimarco.

Referee Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

04:41 PM BST

Mutual affection

04:24 PM BST

The starting players on a yellow card

Switzerland Freuler, Xhaka, Rodriguez, Ndoye

Italy Donnarumma, Cristante, Fagioli

04:14 PM BST

This one could go the distance

Good afternoon from an extraordinarily sunny Berlin, where it is currently a quite unpleasant 29 degrees. A little bit too hot to be playing football, I’d say, but here we are nonetheless. It’s Switzerland v Italy and it has the potential to be a cracking game.

If you’re settling in to enjoy this one, be warned: you might be in for a long evening. Of Italy’s last 26 knockout matches at international tournaments, 15 have gone to extra time. That includes four of their last five matches. They are the masters of the two-hour match, although I can’t imagine any player is particularly keen for such a slog in this heat.

Italy have the bigger reputation on the international stage but this will certainly not be easy for Luciano Spalletti’s team, who have been rather average at this tournament so far.

Switzerland have lost only one game since the 2022 World Cup and there is a nice balance to their side, with Granit Xhaka controlling things in the middle. Xhaka was named player of the match in two of Switzerland’s three group games.

03:59 PM BST

Italy team news: Six changes from Croatia draw

Rip it up and start again. Luciano Spalletti has changed more than half his team and switched to a back four. In come Gianluca Scamacca, Federico Chiesa, Bryan Cristante, Gianluca Mancini, Nicolò Fagioli and Stephan El Shaarawy - but not Mattia Zaccagni, the hero against Croatia.

Out go Jorginho, Federico Dimarco (who isn’t fully fit), Lorenzo Pellegrini, Giacomo Raspadori, Mateo Retegui and the suspended Ricardo Calafiori.

03:56 PM BST

Switzerland team news

Just one enforced change for the Swiss. Ruben Vargas replaces the suspended Silvan Widmer, which probably means Dan Ndoye will move to right wing-back.

03:43 PM BST

Who do you fancy?

Here’s what our man Sam Wallace thinks.

03:24 PM BST

Good afternoon

Euro 2024 is about to get serious. Okay, okay, even more serious. The knockout stage begins this afternoon with Switzerland v Italy in Berlin. All 16 teams – even the favourites – know their tournament could end with Hitchcockian suddenness.

Italy have already thrust the knife into Croatia, who were going through until Mattia Zaccagni scored a majestic 98th-minute equaliser that ultimately kept Italy in the competition.

Switzerland suffered the reverse in their last group game when Niclas Fullkrug headed an injury-time equaliser for Germany. Had he not scored that goal, Italy would be playing Germany today.

The modesty of Italy’s performances in the group, where they were also hammered 1-0 by Spain, makes it easy to forget they are the defending champions. But they are in the better half of the draw, one in which most teams should aspire to at least the semi-finals. That certainly applies to Switzerland, who were excellent at times in the group stage and have a textbook mix of experience and youth, brain and brawn.

“We’ve had a full week of training,” said their manager Murat Yakin. “Everyone is available for selection (apart from the suspended Silvan Widmer), there’s an excellent mood in the camp, and we have a really full heart to make it as far as we can.”

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti is under far more pressure. “We have to do more than we have done so far to make the Italian people proud,” he said. “The draw put us in a tough group and the players struggled with that. Now I expect to see the players a little more relaxed because it’s a knockout match. There are no permutations; the time is now.”

Just one more thing: the winner of this game will play England or Slovakia in the quarter-finals.

Kick off 5pm.