I can't lie, I'm spent. Games like this usually render me speechless, but I did my best to bring you all the drama over the course of the 120 minutes and a little bit more. The dust hasn't settled yet and how could it? It could be days and maybe even months before we see another game like this, they don't come by too often...
As far as I'm concerned, though, I'll be back tomorrow, recharged as hell for the two games we've got in store. England versus Germany is the early kick-off, I'm sincerely hoping the game lives up to it's billing. Until then, this is Vishal Subramanian signing off. It goes without saying that we deserve a good night's sleep to recover from the madness we've witnessed, so get some shut eye folks! Tata!
This has been one of the greatest days of football in ages. Eight goals and 120 minutes of football between Croatia and Spain a few hours ago and we genuinely thought that wouldn't be topped.
The football gods looked down on us and smiled, what the hell do we even know, eh? That's the beauty of the sport - anything can happen. Never say never and all those 1000 other cliches, but it's true...
As I said earlier, this has been coming for Switzerland. They've been notoriously hard to beat in major tournaments and have lost knockout fixtures in gruelling circumstances over the years, but they've finally got their crowning moment and can afford to put past demons to bed. The icing on the cake is that it came against arguably the strongest squad in world football currently, they will cherish this for a long, long time. One of the finest nights in their history, make no mistake.
AAAND BREATHE.
Switzerland are in the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2020 and they've done so by staging one of THE great comebacks against the reigning world champions. If I was told to show someone a game of football and convince them to follow the sport, it would have to be this one. Just a roller coaster of emotions that ends in euphoria for the Swiss and complete heartbreak for France, who came into the competition as the favorites.
How can you describe such a game of football?! Bloody hell, this is unbelievable.
SWITZERLAND ARE THROUGH! FRANCE ARE OUT! WOW!
MBAPPE MISSSSSESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
If Kylian Mbappe misses, France are OUT.
Admir Mehmedi up next for Switzerland... and he scores as well! 5-4!
Presnel Kimpembe scores for France. 4-4.
Vargas steps up for Switzerland and he scores! ALMOST KEPT OUT BY LLORIS! 4-3.
Karim Benzema is absolutely pumped on the touchline...
Marcus Thuram up next and he looks nervous...
BUT HE SCORES! 3-3
Manuel Akanji is up next for Switzerland, and he scores as well! Wow. 3-2.
Olivier Giroud for France.... SCORES! 2-2!
Fabian Schar for Switzerland.... SCORES! 2-1
Up steps Paul Pogba.... SCORES! 1-1.
GAVRANOVIC SCORES FOR SWITZERLAND. 1-0!
Switzerland will shoot first at the National Park Arena...
Finger nail biting time....
France 3, Switzerland 3. Six goals and 120 minutes of football later, it will come down to penalties in Bucharest. What a game we've seen, Haris Seferovic's opening goal seems like a life time away.
We've seen goals, missed penalties, crunching tackles, fantastic saves and golden opportunities spurred, but none of it matters now.
ON WE GO TO PENALTIES!
120' Free kick to Switzerland from a dangerous position. Potentially the last kick of the day before penalties, SURELY NOT?
119' SOMMER SAVES FROM GIROUD!
A straightforward one for the goalkeeper, but an important save nonetheless.
118' Xhaka wins a free-kick near the half way line.
Some of these players have nothing left in their tanks, they've all been run to the ground after nearly 120 minutes of action...
115' Brilliant intervention from Varane to stop a dangerous Switzerland counter.
114' GIROUD'S EFFORT IS BLOCKED.... Inexplicably by Mbappe.
111' Marcus Thuram has belatedly come on for Kingsley Coman.
110' WHAT A MISS FROM MBAPPE! Wow, the Frenchman miscues terribly after being played through by Pogba. It's just not happening for him at Euro 2020...
109' CLOSE! Mbappe's effort flashes wide of the post.
109' Giroud is penalized for a foul on Granit Xhaka.
108' Akanji is booked for a late challenge on Pogba. The referee tries to play an advantage, but it doesn't materialize for France.
107' Mbappe tries to roll away, but he's once again stopped in his tracks by Nico Elvedi.
We're away for the second half of extra time!
Both sets of players look absolutely knackered, they'll have to get their afterburners on to see off the rest of the game. I'm sat here catching my breath after that frantic second half, can't even imagine what the players are going through.
Heroes, every single one of them. Regardless of how the game pans out.
Half time in extra time: France 3-3 Switzerland.
15 minutes away from the first penalty shootout of UEFA Euro 2020...
104' Goal kick for France after a frantic passage of play.
101' Moussa Sissoko's effort reaches the top tier. A Yes Bank maximum, for all the IPL fans following the coverage 😂
Coman is off the pitch currently, but he wants to come back on and give it another go. Texts that precede unfortunate events?!
Oh my... this doesn't look too good for Kingsley Coman, who is down on the pitch with a suspected hamstring injury. Marcus Thuram is ready to come on.
98' France try to hit Switzerland on the break, but Coman can only find the side-netting.
98' Mbabu's cross is cleared away by Varane.
97' Haris Seferovic is replaced by Fabian Schar, as he goes off to a standing ovation from the Swiss fans in Bucharest.
95' TOP SAVE FROM SOMMER TO DENY PAVARD!
The Formula 1 car has had his say with two important goals, can the go-kart respond? Only time will tell...
94' Olivier Giroud comes on for the injured Karim Benzema.
93' Karim Benzema is limping off the pitch, this is not good news for France...
THE FIRST HALF OF EXTRA TIME IS AWAY!
We see you Croatia vs Spain, and we raise you France vs Switzerland. The football gods have looked down on us today and smiled, there's been enough drama to produce a movie..
FULL TIME: France 2-2 Switzerland
What have we just witnessed? This second half is going down in the history books, I'm struggling to find the right words... Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gents, this is the beautiful game in all its magnificence and we're guaranteed to have more drama in the minutes ahead. Football, bloody hell, eh?!
HOLY GOD! KINSGLEY COMAN HITS THE BAR WITH VIRTUALLY THE LAST KICK OF THE GAME!
How much more can this game produce, this is absolutely unbelievable. What a goal this is from the substitute, he shows incredible calmness to keep Switzerland in the game. Granit Xhaka with a sensational pass in the build-up too, wow.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL! GAVRANOVIC SCORES WITH TEN SECONDS OF NORMAL TIME REMAINING!
88' Antoine Griezmann is replaced by Moussa Sissoko for France.
87' Admir Mehmedi comes on for Ricardo Rodriguez for Switzerland.
Squeaky bum time for Switzerland now, they've got to throw the kitchen sink at it in the closing stages of the game. France are almost there...
HOLY MOLY! GAVRANOVIC SCORES BUT HE'S FLAGGED OFFSIDE.
Heart in the mouth moment for France...
83' Rabiot's long range effort is well wide of the cross bar.
Another stunning header from Seferovic, who gets on the end of a brilliant cross from Mbabu. Switzerland are showing that they are up for a fight, this one's not over yet. Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gents, the next few minutes could be one for the ages...
They couldn't, could they? Surely not?
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL HARIS SEFEROVIC!
79' Ruben Vargas and Christian Fassnacht come on for Steven Zuber and Breel Embolo. Switzerland are playing all their cards to stage a fightback...
France are piling on the pressure and have finally come to the party - they've come out all guns blazing in the second half to stage a stunning comeback.
Outrageous strike from the Manchester United man, he's been one of the best players at Euro 2020 so far and finally scores with a wordlie. He finds the top corner with a fantastic strike and gives his side a two goal advantage on the night. Is that the game?
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL PAUL POGBA!
74' A double change for Switzerland sees Kevin Mbabu and Mario Gavranovic come on for Silvan Widmer and Xherdan Shaqiri.
72' Embolo is down injured and is receiving treatment.
70' Pogba's shot deflects away for a corner.
69' Widmer nearly heads the ball into his own net, but it's only a corner. It's all happening here...
68' Brilliant ball by Pogba, but Sommer gets to the ball ahead of Mbappe. Fantastic defending from Elvedi as well, brilliant passage of play.
66' WHAT A MISSED CHANCE FROM SEFEROVIC!
66' Shaqiri wins a free kick after being nudged off the ball by Rabiot.
63' Mbappe is stopped in his tracks by Nico Elvedi.
61' Rodriguez is booked for a cynical foul on Griezmann.
Vladimir Petkovic looks absolutely devastated on the touchline...
Benzema heads the ball in from close range after Griezmann's effort falls kindly to him. An unbelievable passage of play turns the game on it's head, bloody hell. The magic of the beautiful game and all that...
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL KARIM BENZEMA AGAIN! WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!
Penny for Ricardo Rodriguez's thoughts. He could've put his side 2-0 up, but France have tied the game after a frantic few minutes!
The Real Madrid striker does incredibly well to get the ball in his stride and finish with his left foot after being played through by Mbappe. Game on!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! KARIM BENZEMA SCORES FOR FRANCE!
56' MBAPPE FLUFFS A GLORIOUS CHANCE TO SCORE!
How big a moment could that be in the game? It's all happening here in Bucharest.
PENALTY SAVED! WONDERFUL SAVE FROM HUGO LLORIS TO DENY RICARDO RODRIGUEZ!
PENALTY FOR SWITZERLAND! Goodness gracious me.
VAR CHECK FOR A POTENTIAL PENALTY!
52' Switzerland want a penalty as Zuber is brought down by Pavard.. WOW.
50' LEFT OFF FOR FRANCE! Embolo's cross nearly gets to Zuber, who has free with the goal gaping! France clear their lines...
47' Griezmann's long range effort flashes wide of the post.
FRANCE MAKE A CHANGE AT HALF TIME - Kingsley Coman replaces Clement Lenglet. Change of formation and personnel for France! They're back to their usual 4-3-3 now.
Kylian Mbappe started the game well, but once again, something seems to be missing from his game. There's no doubting his quality, though, and it remains to be seen if France change shape in the second half to bring the best out of their prized asset...
Didier Deschamps so fixated pre-tournament on Kylian Mbappé no longer being able to play on the right-wing, but why? The left so crowded by opposition, the more advanced full-back/asymmetric midfielder & Karim Benzema who really likes coming in from the left.
What a performance from Vladimir Petkovic's side, they haven't sat back after getting the early goal and have shown incredible calmness on the ball. France haven't played particularly badly, but they'll need to switch gears after the interval to have a chance of progressing to the quarterfinals. Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gents, another upset could well be on the cards. 👀
HALF TIME: France 0-1 Switzerland (Haris Seferovic 15')
Well, well, well. The reigning world champions have work to do in the second half, as Switzerland have clearly been the better side so far.
He's back on his feet, much to everyone's delight.
45+2' Benzema's shot is blocked, but play is stopped as Embolo is down with a head injury...
TWO MINUTES OF ADDED TIME AT THE END OF THE FIRST HALF!
44' Embolo is fouled again, this time by Kimpembe.
43' Mbappe's left-footed effort from outside the box is well off target.
42' Half a chance but France survive! Rodriguez's corner is met by Akanji, but he's unable to keep his header down.
41' Switzerland corner as Varane beats Embolo to the ball.
40' Switzerland are seeing a lot of the ball and have shown good value for their lead.
Clement Lenglet's role in the goal is a major talking point. The Barcelona man was easily outjumped by Haris Seferovic, he'll be kicking himself when he sees the replay...
Hot day in Bucharest as play is paused for a brief water break...
37' Griezmann's corner is cleared easily by Switzerland, who've looked quite comfortable so far. Fantastic performance from Vladimir Petkovic's side.
36' Griezmann's cross is cleared away for a corner by Zuber...
34' Pogba commits a cynical foul on Embolo to stop him in his tracks.
33' Nico Elvedi belatedly goes into the book for a foul he committed earlier.
32' Rabiot overruns the ball from a good position, poor play from the makeshift left-wing back.
CLOSE! Shaqiri's brilliant delivery is seen late by Embolo, who fails to react to it on time. Half a chance for the Swiss striker.
30' Varane is booked for a foul on Zuber.
29' Rabiot's long shot fizzes narrowly past the post. What a hit from the Juventus man!
Scratch that, it's a goalkick for France...
27' Another Swiss corner as Zuber's cross is blocked by Kante...
26' Mbappe's free-kick hits the wall, but he gets a second bite of the cherry and sends it well wide.
25' Freuler is penalized for a hand ball at the edge of the area. Good position for France to work the goalkeeper...
23' CLOSE! Rabiot's cross is parried by Sommer as the Swiss goalkeeper does well to prevent Benzema from getting to the ball.
19' Griezmann's free-kick is cleared away easily...
18' Free-kick for France as Griezmann is fouled rather unecessarily.
Switzerland lead the world champions in Romania, as Heferovic does brilliantly to meet Steven Zuber's cross. The script's been thrown out the window - France have to come from behind to win the game!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! HARIS SEFEROVIC SCORES FOR SWITZERLAND!
Kylian Mbappe looks on it today, he's already made a few darting runs into the box. Fancy him to finally break his Euro 2020 duck? I wouldn't bet against it...
10' Freuler does well to get the cross in, but he's unable to find Seferovic in the middle.
Rodriguez's corner is cleared away. Both sides are playing some good football in the opening exchanges.
8' Embolo does brilliantly to beat Varane and win a corner for his side.
7' Mbappe's cross is blocked as the ball goes away for another France corner.
6' Griezmann is getting a lot of joy in the opening exchanges, he seems to be enjoying a lot of freedom in a free role.
4' Rodriguez's corner is cleared away easily by France.
4' Switzerland win a corner after Shaqiri's cross is headed away.
Ooh what's happened here? Presnel Kimpembe is moving gingerly, but he's carrying on for now. France already have a lot of injury problems, they can't afford to have another one bite the dust as we head into the business end of the season.
That was a fantastic cross from Griezmann and a lucky let-off for Switzerland.
CHANCE! RAPHAEL VARANE MISSES A FREE HEADER FROM CLOSE RANGE!
1' Griezmann's cross is deflected behind for a corner.
HERE WE GO, WE'RE UP AND RUNNING AT THE NATIONAL ARENA!
Switzerland get us away, as they attack from right to left.
We've already seen one upset in the knockout stages, with the Czech Republic recording a stunning 2-0 victory against the Netherlands yesterday. Can Switzerland pull a rabbit out of the hat today against one of the strongest sides in world football?
We're about to find out - the live action is minutes away!
15 MINUTES TO KICK-OFF!
Adrien Rabiot as a left-wing back is an interesting choice, but with Lucas Digne and Lucas Hernandez injured, I don’t think France had much of a choice…
France the only major contender to deviate majorly from their shape in the group stage to the knockouts with tonight's 3-5-2 - an attempt to get the best/more from Benzema, Griezmann & Mbappé. Didier Deschamps bold, but had to be after pitiful move construction in group games.
There was a lot of talk that Didier Deschamps would play three central defenders and he's done exactly that, with Clement Lenglet joining Raphael Varane and Presnel Kimpembe at the back. Interesting team sheet from the world champions, maybe this formation could bring the best out of Antoine Griezmann, who has a bit of a free role to weave his magic behind the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema...
OFFICIAL France starting XI (3-4-1-2): Hugo Lloris; Presnel Kimpembe, Clement Lenglet, Raphael Varane; N'Golo Kante, Paul Pogba, Adrien Rabiot, Benjamin Pavard, Antoine Griezmann; Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema Benzema.
OFFICIAL Switzerland starting XI (3-4-3): Yann Sommer; Silvan Widmer, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji; Ricardo Rodriguez; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Steven Zuber; Xherdan Shaqiri, Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic
Meanwhile, what a game we've had at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. Croatia looked done a few minutes ago, but they've two quickfire goals to bring the scoreline back to 3-3 to shock Spain! Unbelievable drama! EXTRA TIME BECKONS!
My colleague Aditya Hosangadi is huffing and puffing to take you through all the live action for that game. With one hour left to kick-off in Bucharest, head over to that game in the meantime!
The lineups should be out in the next 15 minutes or so, interesting to see who Deschamps prefers at right back. Will he stick with Jules Kounde, who was quite solid in his first start of the tournament against Portugal, or revert to Benjamin Pavard? Only time will tell.
This is brilliant. Six #FRA fans accidentally booked to travel to Bucharest rather than Budapest. Missed game v #HUN. Only found out error when greeted by #UKR fans. Now remaining in Bucharest - France will play there in 5 days if they win Group F. https://t.co/w5NG1KFgvx
This game is actually in Bucharest and not Budapest, just in case the six French fans who mixed up the venues earlier in the tournament are curious 😂😂
Will the reigning world champions France, who were the beaten finalists at Euro 2016, go one step further this time and fulfill their destiny as the kings of the continent? Or will Switzerland, who have developed a reputation of being notoriously hard to beat under Vladimir Petkovic over the years, add another feather to their cap by causing an upset?
Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's official live blog for the intriguing UEFA Euro 2020 encounter between France and Switzerland at the National Arena in Bucharest. I'm Vishal Subramanian and I'll talk you through all the live action today, as Les Bleus look to take a major step towards the final. Didier Deschamps' side came into the competition as the favorites and have lived up to the billing so far, having topped the Group of Death that also involved Germany, Portugal and Hungary.
As far as I'm concerned, though, I'll be back tomorrow, recharged as hell for the two games we've got in store. England versus Germany is the early kick-off, I'm sincerely hoping the game lives up to it's billing. Until then, this is Vishal Subramanian signing off. It goes without saying that we deserve a good night's sleep to recover from the madness we've witnessed, so get some shut eye folks! Tata!
The football gods looked down on us and smiled, what the hell do we even know, eh? That's the beauty of the sport - anything can happen. Never say never and all those 1000 other cliches, but it's true...
Switzerland are in the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2020 and they've done so by staging one of THE great comebacks against the reigning world champions. If I was told to show someone a game of football and convince them to follow the sport, it would have to be this one. Just a roller coaster of emotions that ends in euphoria for the Swiss and complete heartbreak for France, who came into the competition as the favorites.
BUT HE SCORES! 3-3
We've seen goals, missed penalties, crunching tackles, fantastic saves and golden opportunities spurred, but none of it matters now.
A straightforward one for the goalkeeper, but an important save nonetheless.
Heroes, every single one of them. Regardless of how the game pans out.
15 minutes away from the first penalty shootout of UEFA Euro 2020...
What have we just witnessed? This second half is going down in the history books, I'm struggling to find the right words... Fasten your seatbelts ladies and gents, this is the beautiful game in all its magnificence and we're guaranteed to have more drama in the minutes ahead. Football, bloody hell, eh?!
Heart in the mouth moment for France...
Well, well, well. The reigning world champions have work to do in the second half, as Switzerland have clearly been the better side so far.
Switzerland get us away, as they attack from right to left.
We're about to find out - the live action is minutes away!
OFFICIAL Switzerland starting XI (3-4-3): Yann Sommer; Silvan Widmer, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji; Ricardo Rodriguez; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Steven Zuber; Xherdan Shaqiri, Breel Embolo, Haris Seferovic
My colleague Aditya Hosangadi is huffing and puffing to take you through all the live action for that game. With one hour left to kick-off in Bucharest, head over to that game in the meantime!
Croatia vs Spain LIVE Score and Commentary, UEFA Euro 2020
The lineups should be out in the next 15 minutes or so, interesting to see who Deschamps prefers at right back. Will he stick with Jules Kounde, who was quite solid in his first start of the tournament against Portugal, or revert to Benjamin Pavard? Only time will tell.
Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's official live blog for the intriguing UEFA Euro 2020 encounter between France and Switzerland at the National Arena in Bucharest. I'm Vishal Subramanian and I'll talk you through all the live action today, as Les Bleus look to take a major step towards the final. Didier Deschamps' side came into the competition as the favorites and have lived up to the billing so far, having topped the Group of Death that also involved Germany, Portugal and Hungary.