Hosts Germany and Italy are 'gearing up'.

The champion was trembling.

Two familiar rivals, Switzerland and Italy, will clash in Berlin at 11 PM on June 29th in the first match of the EURO 2024 Round of 16. The two neighboring teams will meet at the famous Olympiastadion, with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals against England or Slovakia.

Defending champions Italy struggled to get through the group stage.

Switzerland drew disappointingly against hosts Germany in their final Group A match, finishing second with an unbeaten record. Coach Murat Yakin's team had advanced beyond the group stage in their most recent major tournaments, starting in 2014. However, excluding penalty shootouts, Switzerland had never won a single match in their previous seven Round of 16 appearances at both the EUROs and World Cups, only reaching the quarter-finals once.

At EURO 2020, Switzerland defeated France in the round of 16, and that was seen as motivation for them to face the reigning champions this time. Although Switzerland have only lost once in their last 13 EURO matches, that single defeat was a 3-0 loss to Italy in the 2020 tournament, and they have yet to win in 11 encounters against the Azzurri across all competitions.

Despite holding a historical head-to-head advantage over their rivals, Italy still carries the scars of two draws against Switzerland in the qualifiers that cost them a place in the 2022 World Cup.

After qualifying for EURO 2024 by avoiding the play-offs, Italy overcame Albania in their opening match, before being defeated by Spain in Gelsenkirchen. The Azzurri then secured a dramatic draw against Croatia in their final Group B match to earn a fortunate qualification.

Despite the difficulties in the World Cup qualifiers, the Azzurri have reached the quarter-finals of every EURO since 2004, and that will be their minimum target. If they overcome Switzerland, Italy could potentially recreate their EURO 2020 final against England.

Germany will not have an easy time against Denmark.

Hosts Germany are hoping to secure a place in the EURO 2024 quarter-finals when they face Denmark in their Round of 16 clash at the Westfalenstadion (Dortmund) at 2:00 AM on June 30th. The home side have impressed in the tournament so far, even needing a 92nd-minute goal from Niclas Fullkrug to secure a draw against Switzerland, maintaining their unbeaten record and finishing top of Group A.

The host nation Germany (left) is not looking to be eliminated early.

Earlier, Julian Nagelsmann's team had easily overcome Scotland and Hungary, establishing themselves as one of the strong contenders to reach the final on home soil, despite relatively low expectations before the tournament.

If Germany wants to win the European Championship for the first time since 1996, they will have to overcome many major challenges as Spain and France or Portugal are waiting in the upcoming rounds.

Meanwhile, Denmark drew all three of their Group C matches to finish second and will need to significantly improve if they want to progress further, as they did at EURO 2020 when they reached the semi-finals. The Danish team doesn't seem to be a dominant force in the tournament, and their solid defense will face a major challenge against Germany's talented attack.

The home team couldn't be at their best against Switzerland, but that's understandable given they had already secured their place in the round of 16 and many might expect them to show strength against the Danish "Danish Dynamite".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-vong-16-doi-euro-chu-nha-duc-va-y-len-day-cot-185240628183359601.htm