"The Italian team played terribly."

Goalkeeper Donnarumma made some excellent saves but couldn't prevent the two goals conceded against Switzerland. Photo: UEFA

Defending European champions Italy were eliminated in the round of 16 after losing 0-2 to Switzerland. This result was surprising given the status and reputation of the two teams, but it accurately reflected the events on the field.

After the match, goalkeeper Donnarumma – named the best player of EURO 2020 – said: “The game was terrible, we were completely outplayed. We can hardly find any excuses for this performance. In the first half, Switzerland completely controlled the ball and could have scored at any time. Overall, we deserved the defeat.”

Meanwhile, Italy's coach Luciano Spalletti said he would take responsibility for his team's result. According to him, the second goal conceded early in the second half caused his team to collapse. Italy failed to show the memorable image of the reigning champions.

He said: “We tried a few things in this game, but I realized that I had to change some things. This is not as embarrassing a result as people think. Italy got through a tough group. But we didn't show ourselves to be a team with character, consistency and rhythm. And that's what we've learned from this experience for EURO 2024.”

Switzerland completely dominated Italy in their Round of 16 match at EURO 2024. Photo: UEFA

For the Swiss team, they will face the winner of the England-Slovakia match in the quarter-finals. Coach Murat Yakin emphasized that he and his players will enjoy the victory against Italy before thinking about their next opponent.

He said: “We are strong and we showed that. We deservedly beat a great national team and we are very proud. But we must keep our feet on the ground and remain humble.”

Here are some notable statistics after the Switzerland 2-0 Italy match.

- All seven of Switzerland's goals at EURO 2024 were scored by different players. Freuler is currently the oldest player to score for Switzerland at the EURO at 32 years and 75 days old - breaking the record of Mario Gavranovic at 31 years and 216 days old at EURO 2020.

- Switzerland had not won in 11 matches against Italy before this year's quarter-final (6 draws, 5 losses). Previously, they beat Italy 1-0 in the 1993 World Cup qualifiers.

This is the first time Italy has conceded more than one goal in a World Cup or EURO final match since their 0-4 defeat to Spain in the EURO 2012 final.

- Switzerland have reached the quarter-finals of the EURO for the second consecutive time after EURO 2020. They have lost only one of their last 18 international matches (8 wins, 9 draws).

- Italy failed to reach the quarter-finals of the EURO for the first time since 2004. The defending champions were eliminated in the round of 16 in the last three EURO tournaments (Portugal at EURO 2020 and Spain at EURO 2016).

Source: https://laodong.vn/the-thao/thu-mon-donnarumma-tuyen-italy-da-choi-qua-te-1359648.ldo