Rubén Vargas sinks stunning strike to send Switzerland into quarter-finals

Augsburg's Rubén Vargas curled a stunning strike into the net as Bayer Leverkusen's Granit Xhaka led Switzerland to a sensational 2-0 win over Italy in UEFA EURO 2024's last 16 in Berlin.

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Switzerland 2-0 Italy
Goals: 1-0 Freuler 37’ (assist: Vargas), 2-0 Vargas 46’ (assist: Aebischer)

Switzerland, captained by Bayer Leverkusen midfield conductor Xhaka, made an impressive start, pressing the reigning European champions and outpassing them. While the Italian defence held firm initially, the chances began to flow for the slick Swiss machine. A deserved breakthrough came when Vargas played an intelligent cut-back from the left that Remo Freuler turned clincally into the net. New VfB Stuttgart loan signing Fabian Rieder then swirled a superb free-kick towards the near post from 25 metres out just before the break, which Gianluigi Donnarumma pushed onto a post. The Swiss whizzes increased their lead within seconds of the restart, as Vargas curled one of the goals of the tournament into the top corner from the edge of the box. Italy tried in vain to gain a foothold in the game - hitting the woodwork twice - but Switzerland sailed into the last eight with a hugely impressive win. 

Watch: The best of Rubén Vargas in 2023/24

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