Murat Yakin's side, which finished second in Group A behind host Germany, faces the Azzurri on Sunday with the hopes of ending an 11-game winless run against its opponent. 

Freuler, who was on loan at Bologna from Nottingham Forest last season and was previously with Atalanta, says this will be no ordinary game for him.

"Of course, it's not a match like any other for me. In Italy I built my career, also finding an ideal country to spend my life with my family," he said.

"On Saturday, however, there won't be all this love. It's a round of 16 and there will be no room for feelings."

Freuler knows the next part of the tournament is where the Swiss will really be judged but insists they have nothing to fear from the reigning champion. 

"Doing well in the first part of the tournament is important. The matches that make the difference, those capable of changing the dimension of a national team, however, are others," Freuler said.

"But I'm not afraid. Switzerland are not afraid of Italy."

Italy, meanwhile, continues its quest to become the second side to win back-to-back European Championships, having notched four points from its three group games. 

The Azzurri were on the cusp of being eliminated from the tournament until Mattia Zaccagni's late strike secured a 1-1 draw with Croatia on matchday three.

Coach Luciano Spalletti is looking for a much-improved display from his side, which he described as soft after the conclusion of their Group B fixtures. 

"We deserved to go through in terms of what we produced out there. We were a bit soft at times during the game, we did not necessarily play our best football," he said.

"We were timid and need to do more. We have players who have the quality to play these games on an equal footing, but sometimes we make trivial mistakes.

"Whenever there is a challenge or a 50-50, we don’t win any. It is not a technical question, it comes down to experience, getting into these physical challenges and being willing to do the dirty work. We need to improve on that score."