The keenly anticipated knockout stages of the UEFA Euro Cup 2024 will commence with Switzerland taking on the defending champions, Italy at Berlin. On paper, both nations can make a strong case for a victory, which will surely turn out to be a rather close encounter. The winner of this round-of-16 contest will take on the winner between England and Slovakia in the quarter-finals.
Switzerland will be delighted with how the national team negated the threat during the group stages. The Swiss were denied the top spot in Group A only by a last-minute equalizer from Germany’s Niclas Fullkrug. The performance against Scotland did spark a few concerns but Murat Yakin’s side showed the soccer world their ability to hurt the big nations as well against Germany. Switzerland will believe that it has enough quality to cause damage to Italy, and will be looking to make the most of the chances they acquire.
There was a fair share of debates before the start of the tournament against Italy’s chances of defending its European title. The Azzurri, meanwhile will be content with the results so far, considering that the country was placed in the group of death along with the likes of Spain and Croatia. As always, the Italians managed to grind out results even in the face of adversity. Berlin holds a special place in Italian soccer, being the venue where the great nation lifted its fourth FIFA World Cup title in 2006.
Switzerland vs Italy: Probable line-ups
The Swiss will have to deal with the absence of full-back, Silvan Widmer, who will serve a suspension. Elsewhere, Murat Yakin, fortunately, does not have any fitness issues to take care of. The experience of the likes of Granit Xhaka, Yann Sommer, and Manuel Akanji will be the key to guiding Switzerland against a challenging but negatable threat against Italy.
Italian manager, Luciano Spalletti, has some huge selection headaches to handle. Arguably their best player in the group stages, Riccardi Calafiori will not play a part in the game due to the accumulation of too many yellow cards. AS Roma’s Gianluca Mancini is expected to take the field in his place. Spalletti has also confirmed the absence of Federico Dimarco, who is nursing an injury in his calf.
Switzerland’s probable line-up: Sommer; Schar, Akanji, Rodriguez; Stergiou, Xhaka, Freuler, Aebischer; Ndoye, Vargas; Embolo
Italy’s probable line-up: Donnarumma; Darmian, Mancini, Bastoni; Di Lorenzo, Barella, Jorginho, Cristante, Cambiaso; Chiesa, Retegui
Switzerland vs Italy: Head-to-head record
Last Five Meetings | Result |
Italy drew with Switzerland | 1-1 |
Switzerland drew with Italy | 0-0 |
Italy beat Switzerland | 3-0 |
Switzerland drew with Italy | 1-1 |
Switzerland drew with Italy | 0-0 |
Switzerland vs Italy: Live streaming details
The encounter between Switzerland and Italy will be held at the Olympiastadion in Berlin at 12 noon EDT (6 pm CEST). SRG SSR will broadcast the match live for the viewers in Switzerland, while in Italy, RAI and Sky Sports hold the official telecast rights. As far as the US is concerned, Fox Sports will stream the fixture live for soccer enthusiasts.