'Euro Host' Germany Advances to Quarterfinals... 'Defending Champion' Italy Falls in Round of 16

Germany, the host country of the Euro (European Football Championship), has reached the quarterfinals for the first time in 8 years.

German players participating in Euro 2024 (Photo by www.uefa.com)

On the 30th (Korean time), Germany secured a 2-0 victory over Denmark in the Euro 2024 Round of 16 match held at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Germany. Since reaching the semifinals in Euro 2016, Germany had not won a knockout stage match in a major tournament, breaking the 8-year curse this time.

Germany lost 0-2 to England in the Euro 2020 Round of 16 and was eliminated in the group stages of both the 2018 Russia World Cup and the 2022 Qatar World Cup, failing to advance to the knockout rounds.

On this day, Germany took the lead in the 53rd minute with a penalty goal by Kai Havertz. The penalty was awarded after Denmark defender Joachim Andersen committed a handball while blocking a German cross, which Havertz successfully converted.

Then, in the 68th minute, Jamal Musiala sealed the victory with a goal. Musiala calmly finished a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper after receiving a long pass from Nico Schlotterbeck. With this goal, Musiala, who has scored 3 goals in this tournament, rose to the top of the scoring chart alongside Georgia’s Jorji Mikautaze.

Meanwhile, at the Berlin Olympiastadion, Switzerland defeated the defending champions Italy 2-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. Switzerland scored the opening goal in the 37th minute of the first half and added another goal in the 46th minute to secure the win. Italy showed a shaky performance, managing only one shot on target.

Switzerland has reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive tournament following Euro 2020. Notably, this victory over Italy is their first in 31 years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.