The winner of this match earned a place in the final 4, and after Switzerland’s inconsistent form and Italy’s strong defensive performance against Jamaica, it was expected to be a tight match. Italy’s defence was however breached in this match, as a back heel by Assmaster set up Cole Te Whiu’s fierce 25th minute strike. Italy’s defence acquitted themselves relatively well, but their attack looked powerless to beat the Swiss defence, as it had against Jamaica. 7 minutes into the second half Italy seemed destined to be eliminated from the Cup as the Te Whiu- Assmaster combination struck again, this time in its better known guise, Te Whiu the crosser and Assmaster the header. Unfortunately for Italy, this was to be the defining moment of their tournament, as Switzerland, rather than going into their shells, started to play some fluent counter-attacking football against the disheartened Italians. In the 57th minute Alessandro Nesta took too long on the ball and Assmaster dispossessed him, before powering in his second goal. 12 minutes later Italy cleared their lines only to see Bob smash home his trademark long-range goal. In the 74th minute Christian Coinco got in on the act, his run and pass setting up Assmaster for his hat trick. With 16 minutes remaining the score could have been anything, but at this point the game lost some of its shape, and neither side troubled the scorers anymore. Italy left distraught after an embarrassing annihilation, while Switzerland waltzed into the semi-finals with dreams of a three-peat seeming more and more realistic.
Switzerland 5 Italy 0 |
