Only one word could adequately describe Monday’s soccer slate in Europe: bananas.
The Euro 2020 action started with a comical own goal from Spain after a strong back pass skittered over the foot of Unai Simon, giving Croatia an early 1-0 lead.
Spain went on to win that thriller 5-3 in extra time after Croatia equalized in added time of regulation.
That Round of 16 clash was arguably the game of the tournament … for about half an hour.
That’s because the chaos only ratcheted up from there, as the reigning World Cup champions, France, were sent packing in a spellbinding battle with Switzerland.
The tournament’s first penalty shootout to decide a winner left French phenom Kylian Mbappé shaking his head, as Yann Sommer batted away his rather uninspired attempt to seal the deal for Switzerland.
With the score 3-3 after extra time, Switzerland won the shootout 5-4 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Here are all the best moments from a breathless tilt between Switzerland and France:
Touted as one of the favorites entering the tournament, France were down a goal at halftime following a 15th-minute score from Swiss forward Haris Seferović.
However, the second half is where everything really started heating up.
In the 54th minute, French captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris denied Ricardo Rodríguez from the penalty spot, keeping Les Bleus within striking distance.
Minutes later, Karim Benzema, who, coming into the tournament, had been banned from the French national team since 2015 after a scandal with the team, put Les Bleus level with an audacious goal in the 57th minute.
If you do a quick Twitter search for “Benzema” and “Louvre,” you’ll see plenty of social chatter regarding Benzema’s first touch on that goal, deftly flicking the pass that was behind him to settle it enough for a jabbed poke beyond Sommer.
But Benzema wasn’t finished.
Moments after scoring France’s first, he was there to head home a lofted cross — or was it a shot? — from Antoine Griezmann to give France the lead in the 59th minute.
Then it was Paul Pogba’s turn to shine.
The French midfielder collected a blocked shot from well outside Switzerland’s penalty box, seizing the opportunity amid the scramble to hit a gorgeously curled strike into the back of the Swiss net.
With the score 3-1 and 15 minutes of regular time left to play, it seemed that France had averted disaster and were on their way to a date with Spain in the quarterfinals.
However, the Swiss weren’t interested in surrender.
Switzerland’s Kevin Mbabu shaped a gorgeous cross into France’s box, finding Seferović for a picture-perfect header.
Switzerland had more to do and precious little time to do it as the game approached the end of regulation.
Enter Mario Gavranović, who took advantage of a disjointed French backline to tuck the ball just inside Lloris’ post to even the score 3-3.
The drama STILL wasn’t over, as France got one final bite at winning the game in regulation off a nasty volley from Kingsley Coman.
Alas, his shot caromed off the woodwork, and the referee soon blew the full-time whistle, sending the match to extra time.
Both teams had their chances in extra time, but the defenses held firm — or the offenses fluffed chances — well enough to force a penalty shootout.
Switzerland went first and didn’t miss from the spot, converting all five of their penalty attempts.
France matched their opponents through four kicks, leaving Mbappé to keep their tournament hopes alive with their fifth penalty.
However, Sommer denied the Paris St. Germain superstar’s attempt. The ref confirmed Sommer stayed on his line for the rejection, sending the Swiss players, coaches, dugout and fans in attendance into rapture.
On the flip side, it was heartbreak for Mbappé and Les Bleus in one of the wildest soccer matches of recent memory.
In the end, Mbappé received some nice words of encouragement from a legend.
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