The Swiss women's soccer team will end the year with an international match in England on Tuesday. Against the European champions, they want to correct the image they gave in their recent 6-0 defeat to Germany.
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- On Tuesday, the national team will face the runners-up in the World Cup and reigning European champions England away from home.
- As if the task wasn't difficult enough, Switzerland will be missing five players who started in the successful test matches against Australia (1:1) and France (2:1): Lia Wälti, Ramona Bachmann, Luana Bühler, Géraldine Reuteler and Naomi Luyet.
- These players were sorely missed in the 6-0 defeat against Germany last Friday. Alayah Pilgrim, who has what it takes to be a regular, is also missing from the current squad because she is not yet at 100 percent following an injury.
- Nevertheless, national team coach Pia Sundhage promises: "We want to win." However, the 2012 World Coach of the Year is well aware that everything really has to go Switzerland's way.
It won't be any easier for the Swiss national team in Sheffield than it will be 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 (world number 25) in the learning process for the home tournament in July.
National coach Pia Sundhage's resources to respond to Friday's defeat are limited. Captain Lia Wälti, Luana Bühler, Géraldine Reuteler, Ramona Bachmann and Naomi Luyet are still missing five key players 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. Sundhage was probably also alluding to the unused counter-attacking opportunities of Alisha Lehmann and Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic.
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 Swiss national team 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."
More on the 6-0 defeat against Germany
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