Italy, Spain, Switzerland begin Euro Cup campaign on winning note

KATHMANDU: Holders Italy began its Euro Cup defense with an unconvincing 2-1 win over Albania in Dortmund early Sunday morning.

Nedim Bajrami gave Albania the lead in the first minute of the Group B encounter. However, Alessandro Bastoni equalized for Italy in the 11th minute, and Nico Barella scored the winning goal five minutes later.

All three goals were scored in the first 16 minutes of the match.

Although Italy enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, the defending champions lacked the creativity to unlock the Albanian defense.

Spain 3 – Croatia 0
In another Group B match, Spain recorded an impressive 3-0 victory over Croatia on Saturday evening.

Álvaro Morata opened the scoring in the 29th minute. Fabián Ruiz added Spain’s second goal in the 32nd minute, and Dani Carvajal struck the third in first-half injury time.

Winger Lamine Yamal, who plays for Barcelona, became the youngest player in men’s Euro Cup history when he started the match at the age of 16 years and 338 days. He also provided an assist for Carvajal’s goal.

Bruno Petković’s missed penalty summed up Croatia’s misery in the game.

Switzerland 3 – Hungary 1
Switzerland made a winning start in the 2024 Euro Cup, defeating Hungary 3-1 in Cologne in the second match of the Group A in Cologne.

Kwadwo Duah gave Switzerland the lead in the 12th minute. Michel Aebischer doubled the lead in the 45th minute.

Hungary tried to fight back when Bálint Varga capitalized on Dominik Szoboszlai’s pass in the 66th minute. However, Breel Embolo sealed the win for Switzerland with a goal in second-half injury time.

Today’s Matches
Poland vs Netherlands – 6:45 pm NST
Slovenia vs Denmark – 9:45 pm NST
Serbia vs England – 12:45 am NST