France 3 (4)-(5) 3 Switzerland: Swiss See Off World Champions2 min read

France played Switzerland in the last 16 of the Euro 2020 in Bucharest, Hungary.

Switzerland took the surprise lead in the 15^th minute after Haris Seferović’s headed the ball from Steven Zuber’s cross.

France could not find a way to get past the Swiss defence in the first half and seem to be playing with less intensity. This changed when the French manager substituted Clément Lenglet for Kingsley Coman at the break to revert to a back four with Adrien Rabiot playing left-back.

Switzerland could have doubled their goal tally of the night after being awarded a penalty in the 52^nd minute. After VAR intervention, Benjamin Pavard’s sliding tackle took Zuber out without making contact with the ball. Ricardo Rodríguez stepped up and without much conviction, shot the ball towards the righthand side of the goal where Hugo Lloris dived and saved.

Relief made the French players move up a gear or two when Kylian Mbappé’s pass found Karim Benzema, who then manage to get the ball in front of him and score the equaliser in the 56^th minute.

The French were not done. 90 seconds later, Benzema scored his second of the night after Antoine Griezmann’s shot was diverted by the Swiss goalkeeper to Benzema, who was waiting at the back post and gave France the lead.

Heartbreak for Switzerland from missing a penalty and conceding 2 goals within minutes but it wasn’t the end of their miserable night.

Paul Pogba, who had an excellent game, scored one of his iconic goals in the 75^th minute after taking a shot outside the box and curling the ball into the top right corner to give France a 2-goal cushion which Switzerland should’ve had.

The Swiss were not done, after a couple of substitutions which proved to be vital, Kevin Mbabu crossed the ball into the box for Seferović to header the ball into the net in the 81^st minute.

It was an anxious time for the Swiss fans but their captain, Granit Xhaka who also had an excellent time in midfield found a killer pass to Mario Gavranović to score the unlikely equaliser in stoppage time.

Kingsley Coman could have ended the game in the last minute of stoppage time but hit the bar to the dismay of the French fans.

The game went into extra time but continued to the first penalty shootout of the Euros. Switzerland has never won a penalty shootout before as well as never beaten France in a competitive game.

Mbappe missed the crucial 5^th penalty which gave Switzerland the win and a shock exit for the world champions.

Therefore, Switzerland will play Spain in the quarter finals and France is sent home.

Source of Image: UEFA EURO 2020 via Twitter