In the biggest upset of the tournament, minnows Switzerland at Bucharest, overwhelmed Star Studded, World Champions & tournament favourites France in a pressure tight penalty shoot out, 5-4, after both teams were locked even at the end of extra time. This becomes all the more spectacular, when we see that France have been unbeaten in their last seven games against Switzerland, & have not lost any game for the last two years of international football - they boast the best line up possible with stars in almost all positions & were clear favourites to lift the Euro Cup tihs time.
Against a large contingent of roaring Blue White French support, the Swiss started tentatively, conceding a corner within 2 minutes of the game, & Varane missed a scoring chance by nodding over a good floater from Griezmann, but overall, it was the Swiss discipline that came into play soon. The underdogs went on to take an early lead in the 15th min, when Zuber floated a cross & Seferovic craned in a fantastic header, past Lloris, into the right corner of the French goal. Suddenly the World Champions looked vulnerable & out of ideas, as the very disciplined Swiss played precision football, well within their means to keep control midfield & not allow the mercurial French forwards like Mbappe, Griezmann, Benzema & Pogba any width. At half time, the French stars were struggling to combine & looked out of ideas, while the Swiss were tidy & disciplined & also an important goal ahead.
After the break, the game flipped on its head, in a few minutes of madness. Zuber steamed into the French box as Pavard brings him down with a sliding tackle, which looks innocuous initially, but after a VAR check, its ruled as a Penalty & Switzerland have a glorious chance to double the lead. Ricardo Rodriguez steps in for the shot, but appears tentative & his low shot is easily parried by Lloris, neutralising the Swiss advantage. This spurned the vaunted French attacking line into life & they scorched the Swiss box with pressing runs, as Benzema controlled a Mbappe pass with a great touch even though the ball was behind him & in another second, flicked the ball past Sommer into the goal. France had drawn level at 1-1. Even before the crowd had settled down on this incredible scoring display, Griezmann intercepts a pass & shoots into the goal which is somehow deflected by Sommer & Benzema, lurking in the bow, jumped up to head home. All of this in matter of 4-5 minutes, as France wrested lead & control of the game. While the Swiss were trying to regain composure, out of nowhere, Paul Pogba produced probably the 'goal of the tournament' till now, with a superb curling shot from outside the box, as the ball dipped inch perfect inside the top corner of the net, past the flailing arms of Sommer - dreams are made of such goals. France looked in complete control with score reading 3-1, as the fans waved in appreciation, as Coach Didier Deschamps, started to smile for the first time on the sidelines. It looked all over in the game, but there was late drama to follow. The Swiss discipline & precision came back with more conviction, & Seferovic pulled back one with a vicious header off a Mbabu whipped cross to make it 3-2, in the 81st minute & minutes later the Swiss were denied a goal to level for a marginal offside. The game had suddenly become tense, as the Men in Blue seem to lose control, & Swiss Capt Xhaka's defence splitting pass is intercepted by Mario Gavranovic in the box & his brutal shot smashed past Lloris into the French net - score 3-3. In the dying seconds of play, Kingley Coman, connected a Sissoko cross & rushed into the Swiss box, but his shot ended nicking the top end of the bar & go out of play, as the referee blow the long whistle to end the play. Phew, what a breathless 2nd half it was, pulsating football at both ends, & some superb goals to boot.
In extra time, despite plenty of drama, the scoresheet remained unchanged, as tired legs, cramps, & exhaustion seem to take over. Benzema, Griezmann, Koman all substituted for France, while Seferovic, Rodriguez got replaced for Switzerland. It was time for the Penalty Kicks now.
Surprisingly, the Swiss seemed more in control & confidence, as they decided to start the proceedings after toss up. Both teams, had their first four shots on target without any hassle, & then Admir Mehmadi scored a convincing 5th for the Swiss, while Mbappe looking visibly tensed, came in to the take the last shot, which was saved by Sommer & Switzerland had secured the biggest upset of the tournament, by packing France off. Surely the longest & arguably the best game of this Euro 2020 till now, a stunning, dream come true performance, which included taking an early lead, missing a penalty shot, going down by two goals, only to recover & draw level, & then managing to stay in control thru a tense extra time to eventually prevail in the penalty shoot outs. Truly deserving Switzerland, now move into the quarterfinals, where they face Spain - what an in credible game to look forward to.
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