Euro Cup Spain, Italy reach semi finals in Euro Cup 2020
St Petersburg/Munich/IBNS: Spain reached the semi finals of Euro Cup 2020 through a penalty shoot-out after a 120-minute fight with 10-member Switzerland in the quarter final match of the tournament here Friday.
Spain triumphed over spirited Switzerland in the penalty shoot-out 3-1 as the Swiss players failed to replicate their performance against World Champions France in the determining phase of the sport earlier in the week.
Romelu Lukaku denied a goal | Image Credit: twitter.com/EURO2020
Though Spain took an early lead at the eighth minute with a goal scored by Denis Zakaria, Switzerland erased the opponent's lead at the 68th minute through a kick by Xherdan Shaqiri.
After Remo Freuler was controversially sent off by the referee at the 77th minute, Switzerland, riding on goalkeeper Sommer's spectacular performance, did all to keep the score line level till the penalty shoot-out.
In the second match of the day, Italy almost had a smooth sail over Belgium, who suffered a 1-2 defeat in the race to the semis.
A glimpse of Spain-Switzerland match | twitter.com/EURO2020
Italy's two goals, both coming in the first half, were damped a bit by a successful penalty shot by Belgium star Romelu Lukaku in the extra time post 45 minutes.
However, Belgium, despite creating multiple opportunities in the second half, failed to square the goal count, following Switzerland to the exit gate of the tournament.
