There were times when France performed like world champions. Slick and dangerous, they sliced through the Swiss like an irresistible force.
And there were times when they were an utter shambles. Out of shape and unable to resist anything thrown forward by quick and determined opponents who caused genuine problems with their pace and mobility out wide, and simply refused to accept they were beaten.
Not when they trailed 3-1 with nine minutes of normal time to play nor when a goal adrift in the 90th minute.
World champions France are out of Euro 2020 after being beaten by Switzerland on penalties despite leading 3-1 earlier
The Swiss produced a stunning comeback in the final minutes of normal time before winning the shoot-out
Kylian Mbappe missed the decisive penalty as Yann Sommer made the save, with the Swiss winning 5-4 on spot-kicks
It’s the first time Switzerland have beaten France in a competitive game and they will now play Spain in the quarter-final
Mbappe was inconsolable as he walked off the pitch following the shoot-out. The striker didn’t score a goal in the tournament
Mario Gavranovic scored in the 90th minute to take the game to extra-time after he had had a goal ruled out for offside
Switzerland scored all of their penalties with Ruben Vargas getingt his past Lloris despite the goalkeeper getting a hand to it
This last-16 tie swung first one way and then then other and, just when that seemed to be that, someone would conjure another flash of brilliance or make a mistake to jolt the game into a new direction.
Perhaps a penalty save by Hugo Lloris or a screamer by Paul Pogba or breath-taking flash of skill by Karim Benzeman, who scored twice.
Or a magnificent header or two by Haris Seferovic or a last-gasp equaliser by Swiss substitute Mario Gavranovic or a fierce drive by Kingsley Coman that rattled the frame of the goal in stoppage time.
It seemed as though everyone concerned had made a pact to outdo the stars of Spain and Croatia who produced a thriller in Copenhagen, earlier in the day.
In the end, in Bucharest, well beyond midnight local time and with hundreds of moths bombarding spectators, like Cristiano Ronaldo in the Euro 2016 final, it was settled by penalties.
Kylian Mbappe was the fall guy, his kick saved by Yann Sommer after nine players had found the net from 12 yards.
Haris Seferovic gave Switzerland a shock lead in the 15th minute when he met Steven Zuber’s cross to head into the net
The striker got above France centre back Clement Lenglet to power his header into the bottom left corner past Hugo Lloris
Benjamin Pavard brought down Steven Zuber in the box and after a VAR check a penalty was awarded to Switzerland
Hugo Lloris saved a 54th minute penalty from Ricardo Rodriguez before France went up the other end to score twice
Switzerland celebrated a famous victory and will go on to face Spain in a quarter-final in St Petersburg. France head for home. But what a spectacle they helped to produce.
Seferovic started the fun when he headed Switzerland into the lead in the 15th minute, capitalising on France’s unfamiliarity with the back-three system deployed by Didier Deschamps in the absence of any natural left-backs.
Steven Zuber used an overlapping run as disguise and clipped the ball into the goalmouth from the left.
Clement Lenglet, making his first appearance of the Euros, got himself into a terrible tangle, seemed to lose the flight of the ball and his perspective on his man, Seferovic, who sprang up and applied a fabulous finish.
The Swiss striker had to generate all the power, from a standing jump and his aim was true, angling a header just inside the post. It was agonisingly out of the reach of Lloris.
France summoned a response. Kylian Mbappe and Adrien Rabiot fizzed shots wide but the Swiss clung on until half-time.
Deschamps abandoned his back-three experiment after less than 45 minutes and Lenglet was hauled off at the break, with Rabiot deployed as an orthodox left-back and Kingsley Coman off the bench to play on the left-wing.
They were, however, quickly exposed again down the flanks. Breel Embolo’s change of pace caused problems for Rabiot on one side and, moments later, Zuber sprinted clear of Benjamin Pavard on the other.
Pavard panicked as he tried to recover, slid rashly into a tackle and cut down Zuber as he cut inside the penalty area. Surprisingly, the Argentinian referee Fernando Rapallini waved play on before advice to check the replay screen from his video assistants.
Rapallini returned to award a penalty to the Swiss. This was their chance of taking a grip on the tie. Could France fight back from 2-0 down? Might this break their spirit?
Benzema made it 1-1 less than a minute after the missed penalty as he met Mbappe’s pass to flick the ball over Yann Sommer
The striker made it 2-1 when he headed in at the back post after Sommer had pushed Antoine Griezmann’s cross into the air
Paul Pogba made it 3-1 with a stunning strike from the edge of the box which flew into the top right corner of the net
Seferovic got Switzerland back into the game when he headed in Kevin Mbabu’s perfect cross from the right past Lloris
Gavranovic then stunned the world champions with a strike from the edge of the box which flew into the bottom right corner
In fact, it sparked them into life. Lloris made a splendid save, diving low to his right to deny Ricardo Rodriguez from the spot and inspire an irresistible sequence from the French.
Within three minutes, Benzema levelled. It was an outrageous piece of skill to accept a pass from Mbappe, which arrived a fraction behind him, in a tight situation.
Somehow, with a single touch, Benzema hooked the ball ahead of him and found the net with his second touch, clipping a deft shot over Sommer as the goalkeeper slid from his line.
His second was more routine, a poacher’s goal from a few inches after intricate interplay between Mbappe and Antoinne Griezmann, and a save that pushed the ball up for him to nod over the line.
Six minutes after Zuber was sent tumbling by Pavard and four minutes after the penalty save and Switzerland were trailing. Pogba extended the lead but they fought back to take the tie into extra time.
Paul Pogba added a delicious third goal, a curling shot from distance into the top corner and basked in the acclaim as if that was the end of that, finally.
The small cluster of about 1,700 France supporters chanted his name but the Swiss had other ideas.
Seferovic narrowed the deficit to 3-2 with his second header of the game and Gavranovic poked in what he thought was an equaliser, only to be find he was offside.
Then Gavranovic beat Lloris with a low shot in the 90th minute, Coman hit the bar and the tie into extra-time. Olivier Giroud went as close as anyone during the extra half-hour.
But this was destined to go all the way to penalties. Sommer saved from Mbappe at quarter one in Romania and it is au revoir to the world champions.
Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic was lifted into the air by his players as they celebrated their superb victory in Romania
It was a different feeling for Didier Deschamps, who will know his side should have closed out the game at 3-1 up