Spain beat Switzerland on penalties after the game finished 1-1 over the two hours of play. Luis Enrique’s side moved on to the semi-final of the Euro 2020.
La Furia Roja scored early in the game when Jordi Alba’s shot deflected into the back of the net off Denis Zakaria. Xherdan Shaqiri equalized the game halfway through to the second half. Remo Freuler was shown a dubious red card later in the game. Spain failed to find the goal after the extra time against a ten-man Switzerland.
In the penalty shoot out Spain came away victorious and reached the semi-final of Euro 2020. Luis Enrique’s side will go head-to-head against Italy in the semifinal.
Switzerland 1-1 Spain team news:
Vladimir Petkovic changed his formation from back three to back four and went with 4-3-3 formation. Denise Zakaria started the game for suspended Granit Xhaka. Haris Seferovic led the line for Switzerland.
Luis Enrique went with his preferred 4-3-3 formation and made two changes from the previous game against Croatia. Pau Torres started in place of Eric García and Jordi Alba got the chance ahead of José Luis Gaya.
Switzerland 1-1 Spain Post-match analysis:
Spain started the game excellently as they found the breakthrough off an own goal. Jordi Alba’s shot deflected into the back of the net off Zakaria’s feet.
Enrique’s side played their trademark slow-paced passing football. They controlled the possession without threatening Yan Sommer’s goal.
Switzerland tried to utilize the set pieces, Spain looked vulnerable in defending set-pieces. But, Petkovic’s side could not capitalise on those situations.
In the end, Switzerland scored the equaliser when the Spanish centre backs failed to clear a simple solution and it fell on the path of Freuler and his pass was calmly finished by Shaqiri.
Soon after, Freuler picked up an unnecessary red card. The Atalanta man’s strong challenge referee did not like the intensity of it and showed a red card, despite a clear challenge on the ball.
Spain intensified the pressure on a depleted Switzerland team. During this time, Switzerland struggled to get out of their own half. But, La Furia Roja failed to convert any of those chances and Sommer made quite a few great saves.
In the penalties, Spain won the game comfortably despite missing the first kick. Switzerland missed three consecutive spot-kicks and failed to make back to back upsets.
Notable Performances:
Yan Sommer: The Borussia Monchengladbach’s shot-stopper was supper on the day. Made ten saves during the game and saved a penalty as well in the shoot-out.
Unai Simon: Was not required a lot in the game but when his job was needed, he came on top. Made three saves in the tie-breaker and secured a place for the semi-final.
Xherdan Shaqiri: Scored the equaliser and showed a great performance on the day. But, he was sacrificed for Djibril Sow following the red card incident.
