As a result, the Swiss were very close to winning a point. But Darian Males missed a great opportunity to level the score with a good quarter of an hour left after he was able to single-handedly attack Italy goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi from the center line, but sent the ball past the gate to the left.

Two faces of Switzerland

The fact that the Swiss were still in the game at this point was made possible by a significant improvement in play after the break. In seven minutes they turned 0:3 into 2:3. First Kastriot Imeri landed a beautiful shot from 20 meters, then Zeki Amduni cut back after a cross from Fabian Rieder and a strong individual performance. As a result, both sides had first-class opportunities. But neither the Swiss nor the Italians were able to succeed.

The Italians dominated the game in the first half. As in the first group match with Norway, the Swiss did not move from the dead center and after 11 minutes they were losing 2:0. Central defender Lorenzo Pirola after a corner and former Zurich player Wilfried Gnonto after a counterattack gave the Azzurrini an early advantage. It is symbolic that the third goal was scored by the Italians in stoppage time in the first half, which, in turn, was caused by a mistake by the Swiss. While Becir Omeragic and Marko Burch didn’t look good for the first two goals, this time Levin Blum unfortunately sent the ball to his opponent.

Swiss in (penalty) out of luck

The Italians were unlucky with refereeing decisions in the first match against France, but this time they were glad for the lack of VAR-monitoring of the game in group games. They were lucky twice that the referee did not decide on a penalty. In both situations, it was Edoardo Bove who began to work too quickly in the penalty area. The Roman came too late, especially against Castriot Imeri. However, the imposed fine was not implemented.

After beating Norway, the Swiss still have three points and are recklessly conceding a great starting position. Before the final group match against France (June 28), Switzerland can still hope to reach the quarter-finals. However, it is clear that the Swiss need to stay awake from the very beginning and correct their own mistakes.

(passed/ed.)