The knockout stages are up and running and we witnessed the first upset of the round in the very first match as goals from Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas were enough to knock Italy out 2-0 New Delhi: Defending Champions Italy become the first team to be knocked out from the last 16 stages of UEFA Euro 2024 as they lose 2-0 to Switzerland in Berlin. Switzerland dominated the Azzurri as they never looked fazed to be facing the defending champions of the tournament. Some shabby defending from Italy allowed Remo Freuler to come into the box and score the first goal of the game setting the game in Switzerland’s favour.
Just as the second half started, Ruben Vargas turned scorer from provider after setting up Switzerland’s first as he produced were world-class finish from outside of the box, curling a beautiful shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma. These goals were enough for Switzerland to go through the next round as Italy never looked like being in the game, and their title defence came to a premature end. Switzerland and Italy were given the task of setting the tone for the knockout stages as they played out the first game of the knockout stages but seemed like Switzerland were the only side that received the memo.
It didn’t look like the defending champions showed up for the game. There were doubts over the Italians’ chances just as the team sheets came in as some surprising decisions from manager Luciano Spalletti prove to be costly as Italy lost their title without much of .
