Italy Aims to Extend Dominance over Switzerland in Euro 2024 Quarterfi

Defending champion Italy will face Switzerland in the quarterfinals of the European Championship on June 29, aiming to continue its dominance over its opponent. Switzerland has not defeated Italy in 31 years and has only eight wins from their previous 61 meetings. However, the Swiss are unbeaten this year, with their only loss in 2023 coming in the last game of qualifying.

Italy has fond memories of playing at Berlin's Olympiastadion, having won the 2006 World Cup final there and the 1936 Olympic Games final. However, Euro 2024 has been a challenging experience for the Azzurri, who conceded after just 23 seconds in their opening win over Albania, were outclassed in a 1-0 defeat to Spain, and needed a last-second strike to salvage a 1-1 draw against Croatia.

Switzerland opened with a 3-1 win over Hungary before 1-1 draws against Scotland and host nation Germany. The two teams faced each other in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, drawing both games, with Switzerland finishing top of the group and Italy missing out after losing to North Macedonia in the playoffs.

Several players from both teams have experience in the other country's league. Yann Sommer, Ricardo Rodríguez, Remo Freuler, Noah Okafor, Michel Aebischer, Dan Ndoye, Dennis Zakaria, Silvan Widmer, and Xherdan Shaqiri have all played in Italy's Serie A, while Federico Dimarco is the only member of Italy's squad to have played in Switzerland.

The winner of the quarterfinal will face England or Slovakia in the semifinals in Düsseldorf on July 6. Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori is suspended, left back Federico Dimarco is out with an injury, and fellow defender Alessandro Bastoni's availability is in question. Switzerland defender Silvan Widmer is also suspended, and several players, including Granit Xhaka, are at risk of missing the next match if booked.

Switzerland has failed to progress beyond the group stage in its first three European Championship appearances but has reached the knockout stage in each of its last three tournaments. Italy has scored in each of its previous six matches at the Olympiastadion, while Switzerland has won only one of its four penalty shootouts at a World Cup or Euros.

Tags: #Euro2024, #Italy, #Switzerland, #Quarterfinals, #Olympiastadion