The first game of the round of 16 stage at EURO 2024 will bring us the matchup between the defending champion Italy and their neighbor Switzerland. The game will take place at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on June 29th.
Switzerland vs Italy: Initial situation
The defending champion Italy was not on the expected level in the group stage but still found a way to move to the knockout stage with a late goal against Croatia in the stoppage time of the last game. Once they are here, they will have to be seen as one of the candidates to go deep in the tournament, but Switzerland is also a team that deserves all the respect, as they got here undefeated in the group stage.
Switzerland Stats & Form
Switzerland advanced to the round of 16 as the second team from Group A finishing with five points. They started the tournament with a confident 3-1 win over Hungary, which basically opened the door for them. In the second game, they were favorites against Scotland, but allowing an early goal made them settle for just a draw. Probably their best performance came on the last matchday against the host team, Germany. Switzerland took the lead right before the half-hour mark and was upfront for the rest of the game, but Germany scored an equalizer in stoppage time and left Switzerland second in the group.
Switzerland has three wins, six draws, and only one loss in their last ten games. The only loss came against Romania on the last matchday of the qualifiers. Switzerland has scored in each of their last six games, and eight of their last ten have ended under 2.5 goals in total.
Italy Stats & Form
Italy made it to the knockout stage as the second team in Group B, finishing with four points. They started the tournament by allowing the fastest goal in history against Albania, but managed to turn things around quickly and win the game by 2-1, which ended up being their only win in the group stage. In the second game, they faced Spain, who were slightly the better team, and won the game by 1-0. Everything came down to the final game of the group stage against Croatia. The Croats had to win that one in order to advance, and they had possession for most of the game. Gianluigi Donnarumma saved Luka Modric’s penalty kick in the second half, but less than a minute later, Croatia scored. Italy was in big trouble at that point, but Mattia Zaccagni tied the game in stoppage time and sent Italy to the round of 16.
Italy has five wins, three draws, and two losses in the last ten games. They haven’t scored more than a goal in five of their last six games, and six of their last seven have ended under 2.5 goals in total.
Switzerland vs Italy: Head to Head
These two teams have played 21 times before; Italy won 7 of those, Switzerland won 4, and 10 games ended in a draw. Five of their last six games ended in a draw, and Italy won the only game in that stretch 3-0 in the group stage of the previous EURO. Switzerland’s last win against Italy was back in 1993 in the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup. Eight of their last ten head-to-head games ended under 2.5 goals in total.
Switzerland vs Italy Odds
Italy is a slight favorite going into this game with 130 odds going in their favor while the odds for Switzerland’s win are at 230. The odds for a draw are 210.
The total goal margin is set at 2.5 with 135 for over and -165 for under.
Betting tip and prediction: Switzerland vs Italy (29.06.2024)
Italy came into the tournament as one of the top favorites to win, which is expected for defending champions. However, Switzerland is the team that played better in the group stage. The Swiss almost defeated Germany on the last matchday, and a late goal cost them first place in the group. Italy had to fight until the last minute to get to the round of 16, and their late goal against Croatia gave them a lot of confidence.
These two teams know each other very well since they have played many times before. They are both great on the defensive end and will be focused on that part of the pitch, given the stakes of this game. Looking at their recent head-to-head games, the last three have ended in a draw and under 2.5 goals, so given the importance of the game, we expect a slow pace that will keep the score under 2.5 goals in total.