The Swiss footballers end the year on Tuesday with a game in England. Against the European champions, they want to put right the impression they made in the 6-0 defeat against Germany.
03.12.2024, 04:30
03.12.2024, 06:55
SDA
It won't be any easier for the Swiss national team in Sheffield than it was on Friday evening at the Letzigrund. England are number two in the FIFA rankings, reached the 2023 World Cup final and will travel to Switzerland next summer as defending champions of the European Championship. It is a second tough opponent for the Swiss in their learning process for the home tournament in July.
National coach Pia Sundhage's resources to respond to Friday's defeat are limited. With captain Lia Wälti, Luana Bühler, Géraldine Reuteler, Ramona Bachmann and Naomi Luyet still missing, there are five team mainstays who cannot be replaced. The width of the team is limited, half of the starting line-up is not available in duplicate - neither for the women nor for the men. This is not a surprising realization for a small country in the two most important SFA selections.
The many realizations
The good thing about defeats like the one against Germany is the wealth of information they bring with them. The last few days have been about "calmly explaining what we can do better and how we can do it better", explained Sundhage. The Swede mentioned two points just minutes after the defeat in front of a record crowd: "I think it's essential that we work on our physicality, on our ability to hold our own in tackles." And: you have to play out the counter-attacks better.
In addition to the obvious lessons learned after the defeat, there are also hidden ones that can be seen between the lines, such as the coach's behavior. The 64-year-old kept her cool even in the most difficult moment as Switzerland's national coach. She refrained from criticizing individuals, but remained true to her style even in the headwind: "We win as a team and lose as a team." The players, who otherwise don't get to play that often, did their utmost: "They get involved and make their contribution."
Growing and winning
In Sheffield at Bramall Lane, where England last played in the 2022 European Championship semi-final against Sweden (4-0), Switzerland will once again line up with a number of players for whom much is new in this environment. Ten of the 25 players who have traveled to England have played no more than five international matches. "We want to grow," explains Sundhage, looking at the bigger picture.
The draw against Australia and, above all, the win against France in October showed that the path towards the opening game of the European Championship in Basel is the right one. Nevertheless, the duels with the great nations of football remain a learning process. They find themselves in quite unfamiliar spheres. Friday's match against Germany was the 18th defeat in 19 matches and the best result in twelve encounters against England is also a draw. Nevertheless, Sundhage promises: "We want to win."
