Swiss women win fans' hearts with joyous Euro journey
For more than two weeks "La Nati", as the women's national team is affectionately known, captivated Switzerland with red-shirted fans thronging sold-out stadiums to see them qualify for the knockout stage of the Euros for the first time.
They battled bravely in their quarter-final before succumbing 2-0 to reigning world champions Spain.
"We had tears in our eyes. I think when everyone saw us, it was a bit emotional," Swiss captain Lia Waelti said of walking out for the quarter-final.
"We never dreamed of it, and what happened here in Switzerland in the last two weeks is unbelievable. It's a dream and we really enjoyed it to the fullest."
After opening with a 2-1 defeat by Norway, Switzerland bounced back to beat Iceland 2-0 before grabbing a stoppage-time equaliser in a thrilling 1-1 draw with Finland to progress to the last eight as runners-up in Group A.
Though Spain were the better team in their quarter-final, the well-organised Swiss harried and harassed them all over the field. It took Aitana Bonmati's superb back-heel, setting up Athenea del Castillo, to finally breach their defence in the 66th minute, with Claudia Pina adding a second five minutes later.
"I'm very, very proud," the 32-year-old midfielder Waelti told reporters.
"I think we did everything that was in our power - we fought, we kept the ball as long as possible. It's not easy against Spain. They have incredible quality on the pitch."
At the final whistle, the Swiss fans raised their voices even further to show their appreciation, and such was the respect of the Spanish players that they formed a guard of honour for the Swiss team as they left the field.
An hour later, Swiss fans of all ages outside the stadium stood pressed up against a metal barrier, hoping for one last glimpse of the team that catapulted women's football into the national consciousness as the players boarded the team bus for one final journey back to their base.
Asked about her favourite memory from the tournament, an emotional Waelti pointed to the opening game against Norway as a special occasion before offering a broader perspective.
"Every moment together with the fans. Every moment we could see how many people we actually brought on our side to support us. To see that is so, so special and it's something we've never dreamed about," she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Tactical tweaks crucial at Women's Euro 2025, says Uefa technical observer
Spain's Aitana Bonmati (in red) in action against Switzerland's Viola Calligaris during their Women's Euro 2025 quarter-final in Bern on July 18. OBERENTFELDEN, Switzerland – Greater tactical flexibility has led to a marked improvement in the ability of teams to change plans mid-game at Euro 2025, former Norway coach Martin Sjogren told Reuters ahead of the semi-finals, which will see Germany take on Spain on July 23. The Swede, who coached the Norwegians at the last Euro and is part of the Uefa group of technical observers scrutinising the games in Switzerland, said many teams had impressed him with how smoothly they changed tack. 'Women's football is developing very quickly, it looks more tactical than what it did in the last championship. There is a trend that there are clear plans for what to do in a given situation,' Sjogren said after landing in Geneva for the July 22 semi-final between England and Italy, which took place after press time. 'If a team needs to close the game to secure the result, then there is a clear plan for what to do, if they need to force a goal, there is a clear plan, so the tactical understanding and the tactical depth in all the teams, you see a clear picture, and that is a development from previous championships.' Sjogren used Switzerland's final group match against Finland, in which the hosts needed a draw and the Finns a win to progress, as an example of the amount of tactical switching that can happen. The Finns took the lead, only for the Swiss to secure a 1-1 draw in second-half stoppage time. 'Finland set up to force a goal and managed to do so, then Switzerland changed, forcing the Finns to switch to try to secure the result, then Switzerland managed to score in one of the last kicks – it's just one example of how things can change in a game,' he said. While impressed by the strategies employed by the Swiss in their quarter-final defeat by Spain, Sjogren said the combination of technical skills and tactical intelligence means the Spaniards, who take on Germany in their semi-final in Zurich, are still the team to beat. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore S'poreans aged 21 to 59 can claim $600 SG60 vouchers from July 22 Singapore Changi Airport's passenger traffic crosses 17.5 million mark in Q2 2025 Singapore 2 charged over alleged involvement in posting of bail for man who subsequently absconded Singapore Teen charged after she allegedly sold vaporisers, put up WhatsApp ad showing e-cigarettes Life Having a workout partner could be the secret to sticking to your fitness goals Singapore 2,500 turtles seized in India and sent back to S'pore, put down humanely after salmonella detected Singapore LTA seeks tailored solutions to improve Bukit Panjang LRT's maintenance inspections Singapore Ports and planes: The 2 Singapore firms helping to keep the world moving 'They (Spain) don't need to play so many other types of football, they are still very secure and good in what they do as a foundation. I still see Spain as the team that looks the most homogeneous, and they are still the best,' he said. Sjogren, who is head coach at Swedish club side Hammarby, and his observer colleagues will meet ahead of the first semi-final to discuss what they have seen, and they will produce a report on the tournament after the July 27 final. 'We'll see what the final report shows, but there's no doubt that women's football will keep developing, definitely,' Sjogren said. REUTERS
Independent Singapore
3 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Jessica Hull finishes second despite breaking her own Australian mile record at the London Diamond League
Photo: LONDON, UK: Jessica Hull recently broke her own Australian and Oceanian records in the mile but finished second at the Diamond League meet in London. The athlete, who won a silver medal in the Olympic mile, was hopeful when Gudaf Tsegay ran very fast at the start, but when Hull got close, Tsegay sped up even more and won the race easily, setting a new national record with a time of 4 minutes 11.88 seconds. Hull admitted, 'I had a lot of distractions, but was just trying to zone into the leader in the second half, but it was a solid run.' Although she finished second, Hull found consolation in lowering her own Oceanian mile record to 4:13.68. The athlete added, 'Coming in, we were thinking I could run a national record, and I did. I would have liked to have been a little closer to 4:10, but I felt very strong for 4:13… A lot of records fell today, so it was a pretty special to be a part of that race.' In front of 60,000 spectators, she and high jumper Eleanor Patterson both took second place, while Rose Davies, who also set new national and Oceanian records in the 5000 m, placed third. Despite not gaining the top spot, it was a strong and memorable event for Australian athletes. On social media, netizens expressed their support for Hull: 'So stoked for her. She gives it her all and is a great competitor', 'Absolutely brilliant!!', 'She shows up every single race', and 'Brilliant! Amazing! Incredible! 🏃🏼♀️👏🏻😀.' Tournament highlights Davies finished third with a time of 14:31.45, just behind two Ethiopian runners, Medina Eisa, who finished with a time of 14:30.57, and Fantaye Belayneh, who had a time of 14:30.90. Her time was more than nine seconds faster than her old national record of 14:40.83, which she set in China last April. With this, Davies expressed: 'I was ready for a big race and felt like I responded to the challenge today… My expectations were a PB (personal best), and I have achieved that, so I am really pleased.' Moreover, Georgia Griffith came fifth with a new personal best of 14:32.82, also beating the old record. Former world champion Patterson was also surprised that her 1.93-metre jump was enough to win silver. British athlete Morgan Lake took first place with a jump of 1.96 metres. Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred broke her own record for St. Lucia by running the fastest 200m time in the world this year—21.71 seconds. Australian runner Torrie Lewis wasn't able to keep up and finished last with a time of 23.05 seconds. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
CNA
12 hours ago
- CNA
Rowland targets multiple titles after Formula E breakthrough
LONDON :After 11 seasons that have produced 10 different champions, Formula E's new title-holder Oliver Rowland believes the all-electric series has become less of a lottery and he can break with the past. The Nissan driver, who clinched this year's crown in Berlin on July 13 with two races to spare, told reporters ahead of his home British season finale at London's ExCel this weekend that the championship was fairer now. "In the early years we had this qualifying system which was just mental, where the top six in the championship went out on a track that was one second slower than (for) the next group and then half a second slower than the next group," he said. "You could never pull away in the championship. You would basically get in the lead and then just start last in the next race." In 2021, the last year before the Season Eight change, 18 drivers remained in title contention heading into the final two rounds. Seven of the 11 championships, including the first three, have been decided in the final race. Only Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne has so far managed to defend a Formula E crown, winning back-to-back titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19. The current qualifying splits drivers into two groups of 11 based on championship position, with odd numbers in one group and evens in the other, before the top four from each advance to knockout duels. "It's kind of much fairer and I think you have the opportunity to see people winning more back-to-back titles," said Rowland, 32. "I think it's a little bit fairer now in terms of not being as much of a lottery. I expect that you will see the same guys towards the front and more repeat winners moving forward," said Rowland. While this year's drivers' crown is won, Nissan are fighting Porsche for the team and manufacturers' titles. Rowland said his ambition for the future, without the pressure of chasing a first title, was to try to cement himself as one of the top drivers in the series. "It's a good motivation to have, to try and win three or four (titles)," he said.
