Italy continued the unfortunate trend for reigning European champions

Today, June 29, the Italian national team lost to Switzerland in the Round of 16 at the 2024 European Championship. Luciano Spalletti's squad had another poor performance and deservedly exited the tournament, relinquishing their title as reigning continental champions.

Interestingly, this defeat continued an unfortunate trend for reigning European champions. For the third consecutive European Championship, the defending champions have been eliminated in the Round of 16.

In 2016, Italy defeated the then reigning champions Spain, and in 2020, Portugal lost at this stage to Belgium.

Notably, after their success at the last Euros, Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, and now they've had a disappointing run at Euro 2024 in Germany. It seems Luciano Spalletti's future as the head of the "Squadra Azzurra" is now in serious doubt.