As the quarter-finals of the 2024 UEFA European Championship approach, we have had our first real taste of an upset as defending champions Italy were dumped out of the competition by Switzerland. Murat Yakin led the Swiss to a second-place finish in Group A, winning one and drawing two. Their point total would have been enough to claim top spot in some other groups, but host nation Germany prevented Switzerland from clutching the number one spot.
Switzerland started the competition strongly, seeing off Hungary in a 3-1 victory. 1-1 draws to Scotland and Germany, respectively, secured their progression to the knockout phase. The latter result, in particular, turned a few heads as to just how good Yakin’s team can be. They proved that once again as they dispatched the reigning Euros champions in the round of 16.
This tactical analysis will provide insight into how Switzerland overcame Italy. It will focus on the key tactics used by Yakin’s team during that game that were also present and important in the three games prior. The analysis will focus on the following three key areas: midfield recoveries and counterpressing, off-the-ball movement in the final third, and chance creation via through passes.
Midfield recoveries & counterpressing
So far in this tournament, we’ve seen teams such as Germany and Austria deploy an aggressive approach off the ball with good results. As Total Football Analysis own Selim Ben Hmida highlighted in our tactical preview of Switzerland prior to the competition, the Swiss have the ability to incorporate similar pressing tactics, but really, we haven’t seen as much of it this time around – their PPDA in this tournament so far sits at 12.91, whereas their PPDA over the last year comes in at 10.11. They have, however, still managed to utilise impressive defensive recovery in the midfield third, as well as executing a counterpress in certain areas and moments.
On more than one occasion in this tie, we saw Switzerland’s behaviour switch as they looked to swarm the Italians on the ball during a transition. Switzerland’s approach in possession allowed for a high presence in the opposition half, which lent itself to being ready to execute the counterpress in these moments.
Their counterpress is not just one or two players looking to react with intensity and aggression. As you can see from the example above, there is a collective effort in pressing the ball and marking the immediate passing options. Furthermore, the Swiss make sure they have players located around the outside of the core of the counterpress – this provides presence in extra areas and protects them if Italy did manage to bypass the counterpress.
