da fazobetai： The abject Azzurri suffered an embarrassingly meek exit at Euro 2024, losing 2-0 in Berlin to a vastly superior Switzerland side
da bet7k： Italy's reign as champions of Europe is over – and about time too. The Azzurri may have illuminated Euro 2020 with their uncharacteristically adventurous style of play but their title defence in Germany has been seriously tough to watch.
Indeed, the one good thing about their Euro 2024 campaign is that it was brought to a mercifully premature end by Switzerland on Saturday evening, with Murat Yakin's side sealing a fully deserved spot in the quarter-finals with a shockingly comfortable 2-0 win.
Remo Frueler took advantage of some non-existent Italian tracking to give the Swiss the lead just eight minutes before the break, as the defending champions fell behind the fourth time in four games in this tournament.
The Swiss struck again immediately after the interval, with the impressive Ruben Vargas given all the time in the world to pick his spot before bending the ball past the completely unprotected Gigi Donnarumma and into the top corner of the Azzurri net.
Below, GOAL rates all of the Italy players on show as Luciano Spalletti's side were dumped out of the Euros with embarrassing ease by the Swiss, who will now face the winners of England's last-16 meeting with Slovakia…
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Gianluigi Donnarumma (6/10):
The only Italy player that could leave the field with his head held high. Made a good save from Breel Embolo before being twice betrayed by those in front of him.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo (3/10):
His lack of pace was once again brutally exposed. Genuinely remarkable how steeply he's declined since captaining Napoli to the Serie A title in 2022-23.
Gianluca Mancini (2/10):
Riccardo Calafiori's stock has only risen after seeing how his replacement struggled in his stead. Completely out of his depth – against Switzerland.
Alessandro Bastoni (4/10):
Hard not to feel sorry for the Inter man. Not at his very best but deserves to have much better players around him.
Matteo Darmian (4/10):
Offered nothing like the same threat as an in-form Federico Dimarco (which we didn't see in Germany, in fairness) but was solid enough, winning a fair bit of possession. By no means the worst Italy player on show, which is not saying much obviously.
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Bryan Cristante (2/10):
Italy fans feared the worst when they saw the Roma man included in the starting line-up – and rightly so. His passing accuracy was decent but only because he took zero risks. May as well have not been on the pitch.
Nicolo Fagioli (3/10):
Strange that he even made the squad after missing most of the season because of a betting ban. Why he was selected here is anyone's guess. Made a couple of tackles but his awareness of midfield runners around him was non-existent and he consistently gave the ball away.
Nicolo Barella (2/10):
If we're being kind, we could say that he was hindered by injury coming into this tournament, and he picked up an early knock here, but he's made a mockery of his reputation as a world-class midfielder in the last few games. Meant to be the one Italy midfielder capable of picking a pass and causing problems in the opposition box but offered nothing going forward. Picked up a booking borne of pure frustration before being hooked midway through the second half.
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Federico Chiesa (4/10):
Always wanted the ball but did very little with it. Depressing to see how much he's regressed since Euro 2020.
Gianluca Scamacca (3/10):
Once again horribly isolated up front but failed dismally to prove a decent out-ball for his side. Italy's lack of striking options is truly shocking.
Stephan El Shaarawy (2/10):
Hadn't kicked a ball in the group stage yet inexplicably selected to start here with predictably disastrous results. Subbed at half-time after 45 painfully ineffective minutes.
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Mattia Zaccagni (5/10):
Entitled to ask why El Shaaraway started ahead of him after his crucial goal against Croatia. Brought on during the break and at least showed some energy and enthusiasm.
Mateo Rategui (5/10):
Thrown on in place of Barella in the 64th minute but never looked like scoring.
Lorenzo Pellegrini (N/A):
Only came on for the last 15 minutes.
Andrea Cambiaso (N/A):
Part of a double substitution with Pellegrini, replacing Darmian. Not enough time to make an impact.
Davide Frattessi (N/A):
Came on for Fagioli with seconds to go.
Luciano Spalletti (3/10):
It has to be acknowledged that the former Napoli boss is working with a terribly weak group of players but even still, this was the worst performance of a seriously underwhelming campaign from the Azzurri – and by some distance. Some of Spalletti's selections were utterly bizarre and his formation didn't work at all, meaning the notoriously combustible coach is going to come under serious scrutiny in the coming days. An acrimonious exit cannot be ruled out, particularly when one considers Italy only made the last 16 thanks to a 98th-minute equaliser against Croatia.