France 3-3 Switzerland (4-5 on penalties): 5 talking points as world champions crash out | UEFA Euro 2020
A fascinating six-goal thriller between France and Switzerland was decided on penalties, with the Swiss going through to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020.
Injuries sustained by Lucas Digne and Lucas Hernandez against Portugal forced Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps into changing his system. France lined up in a three-man defense, with Clement Lenglet making his first appearance of the tournament.
Switzerland went ahead in the 15th minute when the impressive Steven Zuber sent a delightful cross into the box for Haris Seferovic to glance home.
France struggled to get going in the first half, with Yann Sommer rarely tested in the Swiss goal.
Deschamps took off the ineffective Lenglet at halftime and reverted to a more traditional back four. But the second half started in the worst possible way for the world champions.
Steven Zuber had been running rings around the French defenders throughout the first half. His trickery proved too much for Benjamin Pavard who felled him in the area seven minutes after the restart.
The referee initially waved play on but reversed his decision after consulting with the pitchside monitor.
Ricardo Rodriguez stepped up to take the spot-kick, with Hugo Lloris pulling off an excellent save to deny the Torino defender. Switzerland were made to pay for their profligacy in the space of two minutes.
Karim Benzema drew France level as he headed home from close range after Antoine Griezmann's shot had been parried into his path by Sommer. Two minutes later, the Real Madrid striker put his side ahead. He showed great technique to round a defender and slot home just before the hour mark.
This sparked France into life as they dominated proceedings, with Paul Pogba scoring the goal of the night. The Manchester United star blasted a rocket into the top corner from 25 yards in the 75th minute.
The goal was of such immense quality that it gave Swiss custodian Sommer no chance.
A two-goal lead with just 15 minutes to go had seemingly put Les Bleus through to the quarter-finals. But as the Croatia-Spain game showed us earlier in the day, anything can happen in football.
Haris Seferovic gave Switzerland hope when he halved the deficit in the 81st minute. With nine minutes to go, the Swiss smelled blood and had the ball in the back of the net again. But Mario Gavranovic was adjudged offside by the slimmest of margins.
The Dinamo Zagreb man was, however, not to be denied as he forced extra-time with a brilliantly taken goal in the 90th minute. He was played through by Granit Xhaka.
There was still time for Kingsley Coman to strike the post with the last kick of regular time. The six-goal thriller had everything from missed penalties to spectacular goals in the 90 minutes.
Extra-time was a less intense affair, understandable given the immense levels of energy both teams had exerted. But France still managed to carve out some decent chances.
The two sides could not be separated after two hours of breathtaking football. This ensured that we witnessed the first penalty shootout of Euro 2020.
The first nine takers were perfect but Kylian Mbappe fluffed his lines to send France packing. Switzerland will take on Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday.
This is the first time that Switzerland have reached the quarter-final stage of a major tournament in 57 years.
Here are five talking points from the dramatic game in Bucharest.
Also Read: Fabrizio Romano's Transfer Roundup: Lionel Messi makes decision on Barcelona future, Manchester United make €85M bid for Sancho and more
#5 France bow out of Euro 2020 without a whimper
France came into Euro 2020 as joint-favorites to win the tournament alongside Belgium.
The world champions are well-stocked in every department and would have been looking to go one better than their second-place finish on home soil five years ago.
Despite being drawn into the group of death, France were still tipped to come good. It proved to be the case as they topped a group that also had Germany and Portugal.
However, the French side were far from convincing in any of their three group stage games. They needed an own goal to see off Germany, flattered to deceive against Hungary and were arguably lucky to have nicked a draw against Portugal.
The game against Switzerland offered France an opportunity to hit second gear. But a poor start to the game had the world champions rocking.
There was a brief 30-minute period between their three goals when France looked assured in their play. The front three of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema worked in tandem. Paul Pogba, meanwhile, effortlessly played defence-splitting passes behind them.
However, that was as good as it got in the tournament for the two-time European champions.
Just one good half in four matches is nowhere near good enough for a side boasting as much world-class talent as France.
The tournament favorites have been eliminated from Euro 2020 knowing they did not bring their A-game.
#4 Dogged Switerland defy expectations to produce the upset of the tournament
Switzerland, who have some quality players in their squad, were ranked by many to be among the dark horses of the tournament.
However, the Alpine side are far from being considered an elite side. While they have just a handful of players playing at the highest levels, the French squad is filled with world-class players from front to back.
Given how dramatic Euro 2020 has been to date, it can be argued that no genuine upset was produced in the group stage.
Hungary being minutes away from eliminating Germany threatened to create unbelievable headlines. But the four-time world champion ultimately came through.
The Czech Republic eliminating the Netherlands on Sunday might have been a little unexpected. But it does not match the giant-killing that Switzerland produced in Romania against France.
The manner in which Vladimir Petkovic's side attained the shock result was even more thrilling. Having started the game brightly, Switzerland were handed a golden opportunity to go two goals up but failed to take it.
France subsequently turned the game on its head and were so dominant in the next 15 minutes that the Swiss struggled to get out of their blocks.
Their tournament was seemingly over with just 10 minutes to go but a resilient display from the Swiss ensured they clawed back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
So far, this ranks as the upset of the tournament. Kudos to Switzerland for holding their heads up when it would have been easy to lose composure against a superior side.
Also Read: David James column - Euro 2020: 5 players who could be X-factors in the knockout stages