New Delhi: It was always going to come down to penalties, for nothing else from 120 prior minutes could keep a spirited Switzerland down; not an own-goal and not even a red card. Down to 10 and without several influential players, the irrepressible Swiss brought the fight to Spain in the first quarter-final of Euro 2020 – quite like they had against world champions France in the previous round.
Alas for the underdogs, Spain made one less error in a penalty shootout full of errors, with Mikel Oyarzabal slotting a third goal past Swiss goalie Yann Sommer after three Switzerland players fluffed their spot-kicks. This put Spain in their first Euro semi-final since their win in 2012, in turn ending a memorable run by the Swiss giant-killers.
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Neither goal during the regulation 90 minutes was possible without errors too. An outswinging corner-kick by Koke bounced twice in Switzerland’s box, before reaching Jordi Alba, Spain’s enterprising left-back. Alba’s shot was certainly goal-bound, but it perhaps would’ve been stopped by Sommer had it not changed course due to a deflection off Denis Zakaria.
Thus, as early as the 8th minute, Spain led thanks to the 10th own-goal of this tournament. Zakaria, incidentally, was making his first start in place of Granit Xhaka – serving a double yellow-card ban. By the 21st minute, Switzerland had lost Breel Embolo too, injuring his hamstring. But despite losses to key personnel, coupled with the dominance of Spain’s midfield duo of Pedri and Ferran Torres, Vladimir Petkovic’s side did not fold in the second half.
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When Switzerland’s equaliser came in the 68th minute, it stemmed from miscommunication between Spain’s centre-backs. Aymeric Laporte thought he had made a cunning pass to Pau Torres, only to watch the ricochet from Torres’s shin snatched by Remo Freuler. Freuler’s assist was slapped into the goal by Xherdan Shaqiri. And 1-1 was how regulation time ended, but not before Freuler was shown a red card for a two-footed tackle. So, they moved into extra-time; but with goalie Sommer about, it was always going to come down to penalties.
