Heartbreak for Borussia Dortmund players in the Euro 2020 quarterfinals

There was heartbreak for Borussia Dortmund players at the Euros on Friday, as both Switzerland and Belgium were eliminated in the quarterfinals. 

Borussia Dortmund trio Axel Witsel, Thorgan Hazard and Thomas Meunier all started for Belgium, as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Italy in Munich. The Azzurri were the better team in the first half, and took the lead through Nicole Barella at the half hour mark. Lorenzo Insigne then doubled Italy’s advantage with a gorgeous curling effort, before Romelu Lukaku pulled a goal back from the spot on the stroke of half time.

Belgium had their chances in the second half but weren’t able to find an equaliser. The Red Devils have now been eliminated at the quarterfinal stage in each of the last two editions of the European Championships.

Italy’s win sets up a semi-final tie against Spain, who edged out Switzerland on penalties. The two teams played out a hard fought clash, with Switzerland showing great resilience despite going down to ten men in the second half.

Switzerland had earlier come from a goal behind after a harsh deflection off of Denis Zakaria put Spain ahead. But Xherdan Shaqiri scored midway through the second half to pull Switzerland back level, before Remo Freuler was sent off.

Borussia Dortmund defender Manuel Akanji put in an excellent performance in the heart of the Switzerland defence. He defended with great resolve and helped keep the Spain attack at bay until the end of extra time. But Spain won the penalty shootout 3-1 to seal their berth in the Euro 2020 semi-finals.