Switzerland of striker Breel-Donald Embolo will not make it twice. After having eliminated the French world champions in round of sixteen in an incredible game that saw them come back from 1-3 to 3-3 in the last minutes, the Swiss squad got kicked out of the Euro 2020 tournament yesterday July 2 in quarter finals against another top team, Spain.

Swiss forward Breel Embolo, Cameroonian roots, did not have the time to be a decisive factor for his team. The Yaoundé native got injured in the first half and had to leave his teammates, who would on top of that be compelled to play at ten later after Remo Freuler’s expulsion (77’). Scoring fast (8’), the Spanish decided to manage this advantage and logically left Swiss opportunities to fight for a draw. Scoring by Xherdan Shaqiri for the 1-1 (68’), Switzerland made it last, again, until the penalty kicks, that they lost this time (1-3).

The joy was short for the Swiss, who nearly set fire to their woods down there in Switzerland when the national team beat France in the last round. If it is still a successful achievement for a team that is hardly ever used to going that far in an international competition, the semifinals will be Spain’s privilege. For Breel Embolo and his teammates, the 2020/2021 season is officially over.

Spain will meet Italy in semifinals next week. The Italian squad of Roberto Mancini won over Belgium 2-1 in a game of good quality, where Romelu Lukaku, Congolese roots, and Jérémy Doku, born from Ghanaian parents, tried everything to score a second goal. Without falling into the stereotype of the Catenaccio, the Italian squad was solid enough not to get scored and defended properly until the end, winning some time whenever it was possible and conserving their one-goal advantage. A few days to rest now before the Spanish test.