
Soccer-Switzerland cancel training session ahead of Spain clash due to illness
OBERENTFELDEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Switzerland's preparations for their Women's Euro quarter-final clash with Spain were thrown into disarray on Tuesday when the team had to cancel a training session due to sickness within the squad.
Less than half an hour before the session was due to begin, the Swiss football association messaged media covering the team on WhatsApp to say that it had been cancelled.
"Today's planned training session has been postponed until tomorrow. The background: In the past few days, some players have felt the symptoms of a cold," the message said.
"In order to ensure a high-quality training programme, the technical staff have decided to give today off and complete the training session planned for today tomorrow. We apologise for the short notice."
The hosts, who came second in Group A to make the knockout stage, are set to meet reigning world and Nations League champions Spain in their last-eight clash in Bern on Friday.
(Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
Soccer-Sweden do not fear facing holders England in Euro quarter-finals, says Asllani
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group C - Poland v Sweden - Stadion Allmend, Lucerne, Switzerland - July 8, 2025 Sweden's Kosovare Asllani REUTERS/Matthew Childs/File photo ZURICH (Reuters) -Sweden captain Kosovare Asllani said her team do not fear England but instead have a healthy respect for the European champions ahead of their Euro 2025 quarter-final showdown on Thursday. After England's 6-1 thrashing of Wales to end the group stage, midfielder Ella Toone said "Sweden should be scared". "We do respect England, the team they have and what they have achieved so far," Asllani said at a press conference on Wednesday. "But fear -- no, we don't have the word fear in our dictionary. "We look at the word courage. We want to be a courageous side. And we have a perfect game plan to win this match." England dispatched the Swedes 4-0 in the 2022 Euro semi-finals en route to winning their first major title, but the two teams most recently drew in a pair of Euro qualifiers last year. "I think both we and England are better now than we were in 2022, better teams, better players, better in shape overall," said coach Peter Gerhardsson. "I hope for a good game tomorrow, and I hope to win." Heading into the knockout stage, there is the potential for penalties, and while Asllani said they prepare for a shootout, nobody likes them. "It is part of the game and you practice it before, because there is a risk that it might go all the way to a penalty shootout," she said. "But there's no team in the world who wouldn't want to decide it before that." Sweden lost to Canada in a penalty shootout at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic final. Gerhardsson said a shootout is one of the most difficult aspects of the game to prepare for. "Everyone has played a game," the 65-year-old said. "When you look at a squad of 23 players and you ask, how many of these players take penalties in their clubs? Not very many. And how many of those are absolutely decisive? Maybe one. "It's a fairly complex thing. It's one of the most unpredictable things in football to try to do this, because you need the mental acuity, you need the skill, you need all of that." There have been complaints about Stadion Letzigrund, which is the stadium for Thursday's match and hosts the annual Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League athletics meet. England captain Leah Williamson said their team's family members were not fans because the running track creates distance between the pitch and the stands. "I don't really like those (running) lanes. I want those small, intimate arenas," Gerhardsson said. "But I have to say, most recently, our supporters made this arena brilliant." Sweden trounced Germany 4-1 in a group game last week at Letzigrund. (Reporting by Lori Ewing in Oberentfelden, Switzerland; editing by Pritha Sarkar)


The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-UEFA bans Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat for 10 years over match-fixing
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Draw For Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final - UEFA Headquarters, Nyon, Switzerland - March 15, 2024 General view of the UEFA logo after the draw REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File photo (Reuters) -Montenegrin club FK Arsenal Tivat have been handed a 10-year ban from UEFA club competitions after an investigation into allegations of match-fixing during their Conference League qualifying tie with Alashkert FC in July 2023, the European governing body said on Wednesday. The decision was taken by UEFA's disciplinary body CEDB following a lengthy investigation into the qualifiers, where Arsenal Tivat drew 1-1 on the road before losing to the Armenian side 6-1 at home. Reuters has reached out to Arsenal Tivat for comment. Global governing body FIFA will be requested to extend the ban, which runs till the end of the 2034-35 season, to competitions worldwide, UEFA said in a statement. Arsenal Tivat player Nikola Celebic and official Ranko Krgovic were also given lifetime bans by CEDB, while two other players were given 10-year suspensions. The Montenegrin First League club was also handed a fine of 500,000 euros ($578,400). ($1 = 0.8645 euros) (Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)


New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Goffin returns from injury and triumphs in Gstaad
SWISS OPEN GSTAAD GSTAAD: One tennis veteran prevailed, while another succumbed as first-round play continued at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad in Switzerland on Tuesday. No. 6 Belgian David Goffin, 34, returned to action after suffering a foot injury two months ago and outlasted 19-year-old Martin Landaluce of Spain, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, in windy conditions on the clay. However, three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss native who turned 40 in March, fell to Kazakhstan's Alexander Shevchenko, 6-3, 6-2. In a matchup of Argentinians, No. 7 Francisco Comesana took out qualifier Marco Trungelliti, 6-3, 6-4. But another seeded player, No. 8 Arthur Rinderknech of France, fell to Italian qualifier Francesco Passaro, 6-1, 7-5. Rinderknech defeated Alexander Zverev two weeks ago at Wimbledon. Also advancing were Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena, Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Swiss wild card Jerome Kym, all in three sets. NORDEA OPEN Seventh-seeded Damir Dzumhur and eighth-seeded Vit Kopriva both cruised to straight-set victories in their first-round matches in Bastad, Sweden. Dzumhur, a 33-year-old veteran from Bosnia and Herzegovina, defeated Sebastian Ofner of Austria, 6-4, 6-4. Trailing 4-1 in the second set, Dzumhur broke Ofner twice, rattling off the final five games of the match. Kopriva, a native of Czechia, overwhelmed Hugo Dellien, 6-1, 3-0, before the Bolivian was forced to retire. Swede Elias Ymer, who earned a wild card into the tournament, delighted the home crowd by taking out Tristan Boyer, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. Hugo Gaston of France, Andrea Pellegrino of Italy and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway also moved on. MIFEL TENNIS OPEN German fifth seed Daniel Altmaier fired eight aces and won a whopping 84.6 percent of his first-service points (22 of 26) to ease past American Mitchell Krueger 6-4, 6-3 in opening-round action in Los Cabos, Mexico. No. 6 seed Yunchaokete Bu of China was also victorious, though he needed more than two hours to eliminate Mexican qualifier Alan Magadan 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. Australia's Tristan Schoolkate rallied past Chinese qualifier Yibing Wu 4-6, 6-4, 6-1. Others to advance to the Round of 16 included Juan Pablo Ficovich of Argentina, Mexican wild card Alex Hernandez, James Duckworth of Australia and Americans Govind Nanda, a qualifier, and Nisesh Basavareddy. - REUTERS