Euro 2024 - Last 16 Tips: Swiss to Conquer the Italians

The Euro 2024 bracket has been set as the surviving 16 teams from the group stage plot their paths to the final in Berlin on July 14.

The round of 16 will feature some mouthwatering ties as holders Italy take on Belgium, hosts Germany face Denmark and World Cup finalists France tackle Belgium.

Spain were the only nation to win all three of their group games and their reward for that is a clash with first-time qualifiers Georgia.

Slovenia, meanwhile, scraped through with only three points and landed a tough-looking assignment against Portugal.

England return to Gelsenkirchen for a match against Slovakia while Austria will tackle Turkey and Romania will battle the Netherlands for a quarter-final berth.

TIP 1 - SWITZERLAND TO QUALIFY @ 6/5

Switzerland remain unbeaten after a strong group-stage showing during which they impressed against Hungary and did what was necessary to get through against Scotland and Germany.

Nati were minutes away from topping Group A and throwing Germany’s plans into chaos, but Murat Yakin’s men should not feel hard done by after being paired with a beatable Italy side in the round of 16.

That 1-1 draw with the hosts showcased many of the qualities that could take them deeper into the tournament.

They have defensive solidity from a backline full of experienced players like Yann Sommer, and Manuel Akanji plus the redoubtable Granit Xhaka holding things together in midfield.

And their forward line is firing on all cylinders too with key players like Remo Freuler, who has provided two assists, hitting form and Breel Embolo back from injury and among the goals again.

Italy have been inconsistent and managed to seal second place behind Spain in Group B thanks only to a last-gasp equaliser against Croatia.

The Azzurri’s reliance on dramatic moments and set pieces only serves to highlight their offensive problems while the loss of key central defender Ricardo Calafiori to suspension will hurt their prospects of success against the Swiss.

This looks like being a tough test for the defending champions and a potential banana skin that they may ultimately slip on.

TIP 2 - OVER 7.5 CORNERS FOR SPAIN @ 13/10

Spain and Georgia will meet for the third time in less than a year after two lopsided victories for Luis da la Fuentes’ side in qualifying.

La Roja rattled seven goals past Willy Sagnol’s side in Tbilisi with the first two on the night coming from crosses.

And when they met in Valladolid two months later it was clear that Spain’s tactic was to get balls into Georgia’s box from out wide again.

All three goals in a 3-1 win were finished by headers after crosses, although the final one was off the head of a Georgian defender.

It seems fair to say that Georgia’s opponents have watched the footage of those games and heavily weighted their game plans at Euro 2024 towards exploiting a perceived weakness.

During the group stage, no team faced more crosses than Georgia or conceded more corners than them with their opponents averaging nine corners per game.

Spain racked up a total of 16 corners across their three group games, but tallied 15 in those two qualifiers against Georgia so there ought to be solid chances of them grabbing eight or more in Cologne on Sunday.

TIP 3 - KYLIAN MBAPPE TO SCORE @ 9/5

French icon Kylian Mbappe has been hogging the headlines again and not all for the right reasons at Euro 2024.

The Real Madrid striker broke his nose in France’s scratchy 1-0 win over Austria and missed the goalless game with Netherlands.

And all the while, he was trying to ignore the fact that he had yet to score in the finals of a European Championship.

But Mbappe’s Euros drought was finally ended in the 56th minute of France’s 1-1 draw with Poland when he scored with what was his 23rd shot in the competition.

It was a confidently struck penalty to give him his 13th goal at major tournaments for France, equalling Just Fontaine's record, with only Michel Platini (14) scoring more for Les Bleus.

Mbappe can draw level with the Euro 1984-winning French skipper in Monday’s matchup with Belgium, who have looked vulnerable at the back in this tournament.

Although they have conceded only once, the Red Devils have faced 37 shots, which is 60 percent more than France have had to deal with and Mbappe is just the sort of player to punish any slackness in this matchup.

TIP 4 - NETHERLANDS -1.5 ASIAN HANDICAP @ 5/4

The Netherlands looked distinctly uncomfortable during the first half of their 3-2 group-stage defeat to Austria in Berlin, but Romania are the polar opposites of Ralf Rangnick’s side.

While Austria deploy an aggressive press, Romania fall back and try to deny their opponents space behind their backline and it is easy to see from the Netherlands’ results which method they prefer to play against.

Ronald Koeman’s side lost 2-1 to a high-pressing Germany in March, having recently beaten two opponents that sat off them, Scotland and Iceland, 4-0.

The Scots did well in that game until their performance fell apart in the final 20 minutes, but the Netherlands are known for coming good as the minutes tick by.

Ten of their last 12 international goals, including three of four at Euro 2024, have come after half-time and it would be no surprise to see them slice through Romania’s defence in the late stages.

Tricolorii, who have exceeded expectations to reach the knockout phase, should have been trounced by Belgium in their second group game.

The Red Devils, who had 20 shots and nine on target, squandered a series of opportunities but still won by two goals and that should be the minimum target for a Dutch team desperate to get back to winning ways.