06/28/2024
After an electrifying group stage, in which 81 goals were scored in 36 games and the 16 classified for the round of 16 were not defined until the duel between the Portuguese and Georgians ended, This Saturday the round of 16 of the Euro Cup begins.
The first match of the direct elimination round of the continental tournament is played Starting at 11:00 am (Colombian time), the Swiss and Italian teams will face each other. The Swiss finished second in Group A with 5 points, behind Germany.
The Italians, for their part, were second in zone B with 4 units. Only the Spanish National Team surpassed them, which was the only team that achieved a perfect score in the first phase of the tournament. The duel between the current team and the Swiss can be seen on ESPN and Disney+, which from now on will provide the services offered by Star+. That signature went out of circulation on the market.
Within the team from the Italian peninsula, which left more doubts than certainties in their group stage matches, they are confident that they can straighten the path against the Swiss.
“This team never dies, it never gives up. Scoring in the discount may seem like luck, but it shows our qualities. We will have to improve to advance to the quarterfinals. We had a difficult group and the players did not have it easy, but now that we have qualified we are going to play with freedom,” said soccer player Stephan El Shaarawy, one of the experienced players of the Italian National Team.
The Swiss national team, on the other hand, are coming into the match with a less negative outlook. They beat Hungary 1-3 in their first match. They drew 1-1 with Scotland and repeated the result against Germany in the last match.
However, their players acknowledge that they are not favourites, and they have taken a weight off their shoulders as they face the match and try to keep moving forward.
“Italy is the favorite in this round of 16 match. He has experience in this type of games. “And above all, they are the defending champions (…) Nobody likes to lose, of course. But for them it is different. In Italian culture you always have to win. In Italy, football is the number one sport and you see that every day,” said Bologna midfielder Michel Aebischer.
Exciting encounter
The second match to be played on Saturday will be played by the national teams of Germany and Denmark. The meeting is scheduled to start at 2:00 pm (Colombia time). The German team finished first in Group A with seven points. The Danes, for their part, were second in C, where they were behind England. The match can be seen on the ESPN signal.
Against Denmark in the round of 16 of ‘their’ Euro 2024, Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany has the opportunity to regain the status lost in recent years as a fearsome football nation.
The Germans have had a string of disappointments at previous major tournaments. At Euro 2016, they reached the semi-finals, where France beat them 2-0 in Marseille. Since then, the Germans have not made it to the quarter-finals at a major tournament. Eight years, an eternity for the once all-powerful ‘Mannschaft’.
They arrived at the 2018 World Cup in Russia as the defending champions, but their path was cut short in the group stage.
They also lost in their group at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while at Euro 2020 (held in 2021 due to the pandemic) their defeat came in the round of 16, against the England team.
The group stage gave fans hope of doing something great at this Euro, especially with the 5-1 win in the opening game against Scotland. This was followed by a 2-0 win over Hungary and then a 1-1 draw against the Swiss. leaving a few doubts.
In front they will have a Danish National Team that has not achieved its first victory in the tournament. Three draws allowed them to qualify for the round of 16.
To achieve this they will have figures like Christian Eriksen and goalkeeper Kasper Scmeichel in their squad.
Denmark, European champions in 1992, also have a recent memory of going far in the Euros: three years ago they surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals. However, the task this Saturday will be difficult against the host country, which is seeking international recognition.
