Swiss stumble but Sundhage rallies Euro 2025 hosts

"This is erstwhile successful a lifetime, it volition ne'er travel back."

Switzerland caput manager Pia Sundhage had been unequivocal successful her pre-match quality league arsenic she urged her players to "embrace the pressure" of their opening crippled arsenic Euro 2025 hosts.

Yet erstwhile it came to it, the Swiss did not get the triumph they truthful severely craved successful Basel arsenic their archetypal large women's tourney connected location ungraded began with a 2-1 decision by Norway.

The highly experienced Sundhage knows each astir starring a big federation connected a large stage, having taken complaint of Sweden connected location ungraded astatine Euro 2013, thing she described arsenic "one of my champion years".

This clip her Switzerland squad threw distant a 1-0 pb and fell to decision successful cruel fashion, with defender Julia Stierli's unfortunate ain extremity settling the match.

Ada Hegerberg had cancelled retired Nadine Riesen's opener hardly 4 minutes earlier Stierli steered a debased transverse into her ain net.

It made the Swiss the archetypal Women's Euros hosts to suffer their opening match, but anticipation inactive remains that they volition scope the knockout stage.

This tourney was not kickstarted with pre-match pyrotechnics oregon thing flashy. Instead the opening ceremonial successful Basel was playful and entertaining arsenic performers danced with metallic tubes earlier a elephantine Women's Euros trophy was formed successful the centre circle, surrounded by flags of each the 16 countries competing successful Switzerland.

Sundhage's players seemed to instrumentality the load of anticipation successful their stride aboriginal on, playing connected the beforehand foot. They dominated two-time European champions Norway successful the archetypal fractional astatine a sold-out St Jakob-Park, but they could not spot the occupation through.

Assessing whether her players embraced the pressure, Sundhage said: "Oh yeah. I person ne'er seen that benignant of locker country antecedently and astatine the edifice earlier we left.

"Step by step, the champion portion is it's antithetic players that usage their voice. We were prepared. I talked to them aft the crippled and it's truthful important to usage your connection and your assemblage connection and words arsenic good aft decision due to the fact that we inactive person a accidental to play the quarter-final."

That is the connection present - Sundhage wants her broadside to marque the astir of their remaining Group A games against Iceland and Finland.

"We commencement with Iceland and if we play a bully crippled past we enactment ourselves successful a bully spot," she said.

"Be liable for what you say, what you bash and however you behave, due to the fact that that is the champion happening for the Swiss nationalist squad and the Swiss people."

The Swiss radical played their portion connected time 1 of the tournament, and the overwhelming feeling astir Basel connected the opening time of Euro 2025 was pride.

Thousand of fans turned retired to march to the stadium together, walking 45 minutes from the metropolis centre successful sweltering heat.

Temperatures whitethorn person been high, but truthful was the Swiss spirit.

There were men and women, boys and girls, astir each wearing reddish shirts and embracing the excitement of hosting the prestigious tournament.

Supporters sang, chanted and rang cattle bells each the way. Locals hung retired of their balconies to articulation successful the celebrations and determination was a existent feel-good factor.

Sundhage's assignment successful 2024 brought immense excitement, with the erstwhile Sweden and Brazil brag 1 of the astir respected and experienced figures successful the women's game.

She went into Wednesday's games with a humble 7 wins successful 18 games arsenic Switzerland boss, but determination was inactive plentifulness of goodwill towards her and the squad from fans.

Some fans spoke of however hosting Euro 2025 felt similar a "new era" for women’s shot successful Switzerland, portion others said the federation conscionable wanted to get down their squad to propulsion them implicit the line, alternatively past criticise tactics and performances.

The enactment ambiance continued into the ground, with Swiss fans loving each infinitesimal of their infinitesimal connected the large stage.

Even though the effect was not what they wanted, the fans ne'er wavered and stuck by their team.

An authoritative attendance of 34,063 was announced connected Wednesday - a large measurement for women's shot successful Switzerland.

They were selected to big Euro 2025 successful a bidding process which saw them bushed Poland, France and a associated bid from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

Uefa's caput of women's shot Nadine Kessler said Switzerland were the underdogs successful the bidding process and challenged them to "make thing retired of it".

Switzerland privation to replicate England's occurrence arsenic hosts 3 years agone and anticipation Euro 2025 tin beryllium a springboard to assistance turn their home women's game.

The Swiss Women's Super League is not yet professional. Attendances person risen successful the build-up to Euro 2025 and Young Boys acceptable an attendance grounds of 10,647 successful March, but past season's mean attendance crossed the league was conscionable 569.

With issues surrounding infrastructure, accessibility and pay, determination is the consciousness that Euro 2025 could beryllium the turning constituent that Swiss women's shot needs.

"Right now, women's shot isn't successful a large spot successful Switzerland," writer Helene Altgelt told the BBC.

"The league is severely underfunded, astir teams aren't professional, galore teams aren't playing successful a existent stadium truthful determination is nary existent stands. This is unacceptable for women's shot successful 2025.

"The federation has realised this and present the Euros tin beryllium a large infinitesimal to kickstart that alteration and guarantee women's shot is going to beryllium nonrecreational and much girls tin unrecorded their imagination of really surviving by playing shot and not having 3 broadside hustles oregon studying."

The Swiss Football Association has implemented an ambitious bequest programme that hopes to treble the fig of girls and women playing shot successful Switzerland from 40,000 to 80,000. It besides hopes to treble the fig of coaches and summation attendances successful the league by 2027.

As Sundhage said, this infinitesimal volition ne'er travel back, but the signs are affirmative that women's shot tin turn importantly successful Switzerland.

A triumph oregon ideally 2 from their squad implicit the adjacent week, however, would spell a agelong mode to making definite of that.