Hosts Germany beat Denmark 2-0 in a storm-interrupted encounter to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Saturday, after reigning champions Italy were knocked out of the competition by Switzerland.
Switzerland stun defending champions Italy
Switzerland dumped reigning champions Italy out of Euro 2024 with a stunning 2-0 victory to reach the quarter-finals for the second time in their history.
Murat Yakin’s supremely well-drilled side outplayed the flat two-time winners in the last 16 clash in Berlin and will face England or Slovakia in the next round.
Ruben Vargas teed up Remo Freuler for Switzerland’s 37th minute opener before curling home superbly himself right at the start of the second half to deservedly double their lead.
A new-look Italy, short on star power and without many of the key figures that led them to Euro 2020 glory, offered little in response to Switzerland’s energetic display.
“It hurts, it really hurts,” said Italy’s captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
“We can only say sorry to everyone, we were disappointing today and they deserved to win. We struggled all game long.”
Germany beat Denmark
A Kai Havertz penalty and a Jamal Musiala strike gave Germany a 2-0 win over Denmark as the host nation reached the Euro 2024 quarter-finals after a dramatic game that was delayed by almost half an hour in the first half due to a violent storm.
Havertz stroked home from the spot early in the second half in Dortmund following a handball by Joachim Andersen, the unlucky Danish defender who had a goal disallowed at the other end only moments earlier.
Musiala, of Bayern Munich, then ran away to stroke in the second goal midway through the second half as Germany’s class told in the last-16 tie.
At one point it looked as if the game could be abandoned as English referee Michael Oliver stopped play in the 35th minute and took the teams off the pitch while a violent storm passed overhead.
Torrential rain, hailstones, high winds, thunder and lightning caused a delay of 25 minutes before the action could resume.
It made for a memorable night, and one that ended with the host nation coming through a stern test of their credentials to keep alive their dream of winning the trophy in Berlin on July 14.
The path is set to get much tougher from here, however, and Julian Nagelsmann's team will now go to Stuttgart for a quarter-final next Friday against either much-fancied Spain or surprise package Georgia.
All text from AFP
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