01 November 1897
Stephan Lichtsteiner and Mario Mandzukic both saw their respective nations of Switzerland and Croatia depart this summer’s European Championships at the last 16 stage on Saturday.
In the first knockout game of the tournament, Lichtsteiner’s Switzerland fought back from Jakub Blaszczykowski’s opener six minutes before the break to force extra time through Xherdan Shaqiri's magnificent finish.
With the ensuing 30 minutes unable to separate the sides, the contest went to penalties. Captain Lichtsteiner kept his composure to slot the first Swiss spot kick away, but Poland were equally flawless and after Granit Xhaka guided his penalty wide of the target, Grzegorz Krychowiak took full advantage to set up a quarter-final place for the Poles.
Extra time was also required to produce a winner from the day’s later game, Croatia vs Portugal, with Ricardo Quaresma’s strike three minutes from time resolving an uninspiring affair that failed to live up to its blockbuster billing.
Bianconeri forward Mario Mandzukic played 88 minutes for the Croats before making way for Nicola Kalinic.
This afternoon will see French duo Paul Pogba and Patrice Evra do battle with the Republic of Ireland for a spot in the competition’s last eight, while Sami Khedira’s Germany meet Slovakia in Lille for the second match of the day.
