Spain gnaws at Italy's bone and will face Switzerland in search of a Euro Cup semifinal.

There's no wall that Spain can overcome. Not the one Italy put up against them in Bern, which forced the team to fight for 90 minutes, nor the one that achieved a perfect record of victories in the group stage of a European Championship , something they'd never achieved before. They also couldn't resist scoring goals because it's in their DNA. Now they face host Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Spain had had some smooth matches in which not even scares had deviated from their plan, but the Italians were a difficult opponent. They insisted on closing every gap because Aitana , back in the starting eleven after meningitis, warned early on that, with passages into the area, she could be lethal. She appeared in the 2nd minute to sneak towards the byline and didn't do so again until the 26th with a shot from the edge of the box that, to avoid the Azzurri forest, she tried to adjust to the top corner.

Montse Tomé had revolutionized the team with six changes to demonstrate her litany of having 23 hungry players and, in the process, protect herself from sanctions in the quarterfinals. She didn't give up her safety corridor with Paredes , Patri Guijarro , and Alexia , who was Spain's greatest beacon, nor did she give up Mariona . However, it was difficult to get into the duel that the Italians needed to make intense. They had to score points to be in the quarterfinals and tried to intimidate by running counterattacks whenever Spain hesitated with the ball.

In one of them, Linari smashed her shot against the crossbar. The national team didn't even have time to shake off their shock, as they found themselves behind from a throw-in. Piamonte delivered a free kick to Caruso, and María Méndez cleared her shot, touched it off Mariona, and it landed at the feet of Oliveira . Italy had drawn up the scene they most like, and Alexia urged her teammates to calm down. Only ten minutes had passed. With control, Spain accelerated the game and once again poured into the Italian box. Athena entered the box from the right wing, played a one-two to Alexia, who returned it with a backheel to level the score. That was the way forward, and it was so clear that the coach rolled up his sleeves in a gesture his players understood.

Italy gritted their teeth, as a point would have put them in the knockout stage, and looked to ensure Spain could only make their attempts from distance. Patri tried, with all avenues blocked, from the crescent, like Aitana. Despite Salma's breakthroughs behind the center backs, there was no spark. They couldn't cause any damage down the flanks against a team that was all order. Their only recourse was to win duels and run. In one of them, just before halftime, Cantore managed to put in a cross that Irene Paredes, slanting, cleared with her hand. VAR warned Romanian referee Demetriscu but saved Nanclares from facing a penalty because the play was offside.

The Italians, eyeing Portugal-Belgium, returned from the locker room with an intensity that Patri Guijarro had quickly lowered. Athenea, now in full swing, ran across the entire front of the pitch, and her shot, from a poor angle, was cleared by Lenzini to the feet of the Mallorcan midfielder, beating goalkeeper Giuliani.

While Andrea Soncin searched for Girelli 's gunpowder, Tomé sent Vicky onto the field so that, if the Italians broke their wall, she could take advantage. And she did, becoming an ally for Alexia. But first, Nanclares had to fly and save a shot from Cantore. Another unrewarded run when her team was running out of air. That gave Spain wings.

With more space, Mariona emerged, and Alexia ran riot, stringing together chances. The clearest was gifted to Vicky, who shot comfortably across the goal line. As if to redeem herself, Aitana curled a shot just wide of the post, forcing Giuliani, who had been struggling since the first half, to keep out a third. María Méndez had a chance with a header from a corner. She regretted it even more when Paredes cleared a desperate shot from Serturini off the line. The icing on the cake was Esther , of course, from a pass from Alexia.