A spot in the UEFA Euro 2024 quarter-finals will be on the line when Switzerland and Italy clash at the Olympiastadion on Saturday.
The knockout phase of UEFA Euro 2024 kicks off on Saturday with the round of 16. The famous Olympiastadion will hold the first match of the latest stage, with Switzerland and Italy vying for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Switzerland qualified for the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 after finishing second in Group A behind Germany. Murat Yakin’s men are one of only six unbeaten teams in the competition and have given a good account of themselves thus far. However, they are becoming the draw specialists of the Euros and must step up in the final third to reach the quarter-finals.
As for Italy, they finished second in Group B behind Spain after a lacklustre performance in the opening round. The Azzurri won, drew, and lost one game each while conceding and scoring three goals in an uninspiring display. So, the holders are losing their grip on the European Championship, and Luciano Spalletti needs to galvanise his squad ahead of Saturday’s clash.
Switzerland and Italy most recently clashed in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers, with both matches ending in a draw. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Switzerland
Murat Yakin has a new roster issue hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Italy on Saturday, Switzerland’s head coach will be bereft of the services of one player due to suspension.
Silvan Widmer picked up his second booking of the tournament thus far and will not be available to take on Italy. Leonidas Stergiou should replace the 31-year-old as the right wing-back for Switzerland.
Switzerland should line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation against Italy, with Yann Sommer taking his usual spot between the sticks. The central defensive unit should feature Fabian Schar, Manuel Akanji, and Ricardo Rodriguez.
Stergiou and Michel Aebischer will be the two wing-backs, with the duo making an impact on both ends of the pitch. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Granit Xhaka and Remo Freuler. Meanwhile, Breel Embolo will retain his spot as the central striker after a much-awaited start against Germany. Dan Ndoye and Ruben Vargas will complete the numbers in the final third.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Sommer; Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Stergiou, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer; Ndoye, Vargas; Embolo
Italy
Like his counterpart in the Swiss dugout, Luciano Spalletti has a new issue to deal with ahead of the trip to the Olympiastadion. Italy’s head coach will be without one player in Saturday’s UEFA Euro 2024 clash in the round of 16.
Riccardo Calafiori will serve a suspension after picking up his second booking of UEFA Euro 2024 thus far. The 22-year-old in-demand centre-back has a one-match ban and will be unavailable on Saturday.
Gianluigi Donnarumma is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Italy lining up in a 4-3-3 formation in front of him against Switzerland. The backline should feature Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Gianluca Mancini, Alessandro Bastoni, and Matteo Darmian.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Pellegrini. The duo will provide the creative impetus from the middle of the park. Meanwhile, Nicolo Fagioli should accompany Barella and Pellegrini instead of Jorginho. Finally, Federico Chiesa, Stephan El Shaarawy and Gianluca Scamacca will complete the numbers in the attack.
Probable Lineup (4-3-4): Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Mancini, Bastoni, Darmian; Barella, Fagioli, Pellegrini; Chiesa, Scamacca, El Shaarawy
Key Stats
- Saturday’s clash be Switzerland and Italy’s fifth meeting at a major international tournament; the Swiss won both games at the 1954 World Cup (2-1 in group and 4-1 in group play-off), but Italy won the last two, both in the group stages and both times 3-0 wins in the 1962 World Cup and at Euro 2020. Since a 1-0 win in a May 1993 World Cup qualifier, Switzerland are winless in 11 matches against Italy in all competitions (D6 L5). They are only on longer current winless runs against England (13 games) and Russia (12, including games as the USSR), while Italy are only on longer current unbeaten runs against Finland (14) and Turkiye (13).
- Fifteen of Italy’s 26 most recent knockout matches at major international tournaments have gone to extra-time, including four of their last five. Overall, the Azzurri have seen more games go extra-time than any other nation across the World Cup + Euros (21), while only Spain (11) have contested more shootouts than them (10).
- Excluding shootouts, Switzerland have failed to win any of their seven round-of-16 matches at major international tournaments (Euros/World Cup – D3 L4), reaching the quarter-finals on just one occasion (Euro 2020, eliminating France on penalties).
- Italy have conceded exactly once in their last seven UEFA European Championship matches and have not conceded more than once at a major tournament (World Cup/Euros) since losing 4-0 to Spain in the Euro 2012 final, a run of 18 games which is the second-longest of any European nation behind Spain, whose last game in a 19-game run of not conceding more than one goal was the 4-0 win over Italy at Euro 2012.
- Switzerland have lost just one of their last 13 matches at the European Championship (W4 D8), a 3-0 loss to Italy in the group stage at Euro 2020. Indeed, since the start of Euro 2016, they have drawn more games than any other side at the tournament (8), with all three knockout games at the European Championship going to penalties (progressed once and eliminated twice).
Player to Watch
Granit Xhaka
Amid Italy’s struggles to consistently find the back of the net, Switzerland can add to the frustration by producing a colossal midfield performance. That brings Granit Xhaka into the picture, with the experienced midfielder in the form of his life.
Xhaka knows the winning feeling now and has been an indomitable force in the middle of the park for his club and country. He should produce another game-changing performance to help Switzerland keep Italy at bay for long periods on Saturday.
Prediction
Switzerland 1-1 Italy (Switzerland to win on penalties)
The pre-match number crunching points to an impending stalemate between Switzerland and Italy. Murat Yakin’s men are draw specialists, and the national side has not won any round of 16 matches apart from penalty shootouts. However, most of Italy’s recent knockout games have gone to extra-time.
In addition, Italy have conceded once in their seven most recent outings at the Euros. Moreover, they are struggling to blow their opponents away, with Switzerland not prolific in the final third either. So, there might not be anything to separate the two teams after 120 minutes, with the match going to a penalty shootout.
The Swiss players should hold their nerve during the penalty shootout, with Yann Sommer making a save or two to condemn Italy to an early ouster. The Hard Tackle predicts another big scalp for Switzerland at the Euros after beating France on penalties in UEFA Euro 2020.
