Hosts Germany and Italy 'wound up'

The "trembling" champion

Familiar rivals Switzerland and Italy will clash in Berlin at 11pm on June 29 in the first match of the EURO 2024 round of 16. The two neighbours will meet at the famous Olympiastadion, with the winner set to face either England or Slovakia in the quarter-finals.

Italian champions struggle to get through the group stage

Switzerland drew with hosts Germany in the final round of Group A to finish unbeaten in second place. Murat Yakin's side have progressed from the group stage at every major tournament since 2014. However, excluding penalty shootouts, Switzerland have not won any of their previous seven round-of-16 games at either the European Championship or the World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals just once.

At EURO 2020, Switzerland beat France in the round of 16 and that will be seen as motivation for them to face the defending champions this time. Although Switzerland have lost just once in their last 13 EURO games, their only defeat was a 3-0 loss to Italy in 2020 and they are winless in 11 matches against the Azzurri in all competitions.

Holding a historical head-to-head advantage over their opponents, Italy still bear the scars of two draws with Switzerland in qualifying that cost them a place at the 2022 World Cup.

Having qualified for EURO 2024 by avoiding the play-offs, Italy beat Albania in their opening match before being beaten by Spain in Gelsenkirchen. They then played out a dramatic draw with Croatia in the final round of Group B to seal their place in the knockout stages.

Despite their struggles in World Cup qualifying, the Azzurri have reached the quarter-finals of every EURO since 2004, and that will be their minimum target. If they overcome Switzerland, Italy could set up a repeat of the EURO 2020 final against England.

Host Germany will not have an easy time against Denmark

Hosts Germany will be hoping to book their place in the quarter-finals of EURO 2024 when they take on Denmark in a last-16 clash at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund on June 30. The hosts have impressed in the tournament so far, even if they needed a 92nd-minute goal from Niclas Fullkrug to earn a draw with Switzerland to maintain their unbeaten record and top Group A.

Host Germany (left) does not want to stop early

Before that, coach Julian Nagelsmann's team easily overcame Scotland and Hungary, asserting themselves as one of the heavy candidates to advance to the final on home ground, despite low expectations before the tournament.

If they want to win the European Championship for the first time since 1996, Germany will have to overcome many big challenges as Spain and France or Portugal await in the next rounds.

Meanwhile, Denmark drew all three of their Group C games to finish second and will need to improve significantly if they are to progress further, as they did at EURO 2020 when they reached the semi-finals. The Danes have not looked a force to be reckoned with in the tournament, and their solid defence will be challenged by Germany’s talented attack.

The hosts were not at their best against Switzerland, but that was understandable as they had already booked their place in the last 16 and many would have expected them to show their strength against the Danish "Tin Soldiers".

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lich-thi-dau-vong-16-doi-euro-chu-nha-duc-va-y-len-day-cot-185240628183359601.htm