Premier League great and former England international Alan Shearer did not hold back in criticizing the bad performance of Italy in their 2-0 Round of 16 defeat to Switzerland on Saturday.
Remo Marco Freuler, who spent last season on loan at Bologna from Premier League side Nottingham Forest, netted the first goal of the encounter in the 37th minute before Augsburg’s Rubén Estephan Vargas Martínez made it 2-0 in the 46th with a sumptuous finish.
At full time, it was sheer excitement for the Swiss while the Italians left the Olympiastadion devasted.
“From three years ago to this, it’s incredible,” added ex-England captain Alan Shearer told BBC One.
“I was really shocked at how bad Italy were. They offered nothing in any position, Switzerland toyed with them.
Gli Azzurri struggled against Croatia in their last group game as Mattia Zaccagni came off the bench to score a heart-breaking injury time equalizer that qualified the four-time World Cup winners to the knockout stage.
However, Luciano Spalletti’s side faced a reality a check falling to a solid and compact Switzerland team led by former Arsenal and current Bayern Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka.
Murat Yakin’s men were dominant for majority parts of the game as Italy lacked quality, especially in the final third, managing just one shot on target.
“They dominated that game and didn’t give Italy a chance. Up top they were so weak, they offered nothing in front of goal. There was no threat. They were so poor, particularly in forward positions.”, the Premier League all-time goal scorer added.
Switzerland reach the quarter-final is a grand style and will now face the winner of the England-Slovakia Round of 16 encounter.
Discussion about this post