If high drama was the expectation for the Euro Cup quarterfinals, then consider Friday’s action a win.
Look no further than the match between Spain and Switzerland.
In the first of two matchups on the day, Spain wasted no time getting on the board early, scoring in the first eight minutes thanks to a goal from Jordi Alba.
It took 60 minutes of playing time, but Switzerland eventually got on the board and evened things up in the 67th minute with a Xherdan Shaqiri goal.
This is the point where the match became high theater.
Switzerland played a man down for the last 15 minutes of regular time after Remo Frueler received a red card for a late tackle on Spain’s Gerard Moreno.
Even with just 10 available players, they managed to keep Spain out of their net through the rest of regulation and overtime, forcing a shootout.
Spain struck first, but Switzerland quickly responded.
Spain answered back with the last two goals – while Switzerland missed three times – to take the match and advance to the semifinals.
Even in the face of defeat, Switzerland earned the respect of many for battling undermanned until the very last minute, in particular goalie Yann Sommer, who collected 10 saves.
In the second match, Italy and Belgium faced off for another spot in the semifinals.
This one was all Italy, who jumped to a 2-0 lead on the backs of Lorenzo Insigne and Nicolo Barella.
Italy cruised the rest of the way to a 2-1 victory, continuing their dominance through the Euro Cup with a 5-0 record thus far.
They now have the third-longest unbeaten streak in the history of men’s international soccer.
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