The big EM casting of the Nati The young guns turn Lehmann, Sow and Crnogorcevic into shaky candidates

Pia Sundhage has been head of the women's national team since the beginning of the year. One of the best-known coaches in the world is to get the Swiss women fit for the home European Championships. Over 30 players were given the chance to show themselves. blue Sport analyzes the big casting show.

Under Pia Sundhage, who has been national coach since the beginning of the year, Switzerland has played 12 matches. The result: 7 wins, 1 draw, 4 defeats.

A marked improvement on the previous year. Under predecessor Inka Grings, Switzerland won just one game in 14 matches (2-0 against the Philippines in the World Cup group stage). There was also unrest within the team. Under Sundhage, the atmosphere is completely different. Her communication skills are outstanding and she knows how to get all the players on board. Every single player is important, no matter how often she is on the pitch.

For Pia Sundhage, it's not just about fielding the best individual players for the European Championship, but also about finding the right mix. Putting an established player on the bench, for example, only works if she accepts it without grumbling and doesn't throw poison darts around. That's why there could well be one or two surprises in the end.

 

Lia Wälti (C)

Lia Wälti will only play three international matches in 2024. But it is clear that when the 31-year-old is on the pitch, Switzerland are a class above. She is the only player who seems truly irreplaceable. In the European Championship qualifiers against the smaller teams, Switzerland were able to hold their own without her. But at a European Championship with 16 teams, there are only big opponents.

 

Elvira Herzog

Elvira Herzog is officially proclaimed number 1 ahead of the last match of the year. If she stays healthy, this status is unlikely to change until the European Championship.

 

Naomi Luyet

She made her debut for the national team on June 4. At the end of October, she was in the starting eleven for the two crunch matches and scored a dream goal to give Switzerland victory against France. She was absent against Germany and England due to pelvic complaints and is already sorely missed.

 

Iman Beney

Sundhage, voted the best female coach in the world in 2012, goes into raptures when asked about Beney. She predicts a great career for her. The question is not whether Beney will play at the European Championship, but in which position.

 

Luana Bühler

Bühler has missed the last two games through injury, but otherwise the 28-year-old is an undisputed regular in the center of defence. She also scored two goals in the European Championship qualifiers.

 

Viola Calligaris

Calligaris even scored three goals in the European Championship qualifiers, making her Switzerland's top scorer - as a central defender. In the second test match under Sundhage, Calligaris was substituted at half-time, otherwise she didn't miss a minute. The 28-year-old is also a starter at top club Juventus Turin.

 

Noelle Maritz

The 28-year-old impresses with her consistency. She has been performing at a high level for years and is versatile in defense.

 

Géraldine Reuteler

At Frankfurt, Reuteler shows that she can both score and set up goals. In the national team, she lacked her scoring qualities for a long time, but against Australia she scored to make it 1:1. The 25-year-old also sets a good example in terms of aggressiveness.

 

Ramona Bachmann

Bachmann celebrates her 34th birthday on December 25, followed in the spring by the birth of her child, who is being carried by her wife Charlotte Baret. She has already scored 60 goals for the national team, although she has only rarely scored from play in recent years. But she can and does help the team in other ways. There is no way around Bachmann.

 

Smilla Vallotto

The 20-year-old Vallotto made her debut for the national team on September 22, 2023 and performed well straight away. In the European Championship qualifiers, she set up six goals in six games and scored one herself. She also shone as an assist provider against Australia and France. She is at her best when playing alongside Lia Wälti, as she then enjoys complete freedom in attack.

 

Livia Peng

Should Herzog get injured or make headlines with poor performances, Peng must be ready. The 22-year-old is the No. 2 and, depending on how the tournament goes, she could at least get a start in the third group game.

 

Julia Stierli

Stierli has a good chance of starting at the European Championship, perhaps in the starting eleven alongside Calligaris and Bühler. If one player from this trio were to be sacrificed due to the tactical alignment, it would most likely be Stierli. However, this hierarchy is not yet set in stone, as the 27-year-old is performing strongly at Freiburg, while Bühler often plays at Tottenham, but not always.

 

Nadine Riesen

The 24-year-old fluctuates between starting eleven and partial appearances both at club level and in the national team, and rarely gets a chance to play at all. With the European Championship featuring three games in eight days, Riesen's time will come. Riesen sprints up and down the line, takes the occasional courageous shot and spreads good humor off the pitch, which is also worth its weight in gold during a tournament.

 

Sydney Schertenleib

The 17-year-old plays for arguably the best club in the world, but she rarely gets a taste of the professional game. In July, she scored the 1:0 in the 2:0 win against Turkey after coming on as a substitute. Since then, she has not scored any further goals. She could also play an important role as a joker at the European Championships.

 

Meriame Terchoun

Terchoun is Sundhage's all-purpose weapon. The 29-year-old is pushed around like a chess piece by Sundhage. Most recently, Terchoun impressed against England as a right-back, although she normally plays a much more offensive role. Terchoun is guaranteed to get plenty of minutes at the European Championships, either as a starter or as a joker.

 

Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic

163 caps is as much of a record as her 74 goals. And even if it borders on lèse majesté, it has to be said that her influence on the pitch has been greater and the 34-year-old no longer seems irreplaceable. What role she plays next summer will depend to a large extent on how she performs with Seattle Reign in the new year. However, her experience remains a big plus point anyway.

 

Alayah Pilgrim

In the first game under Sundhage, Switzerland wins 4:1 against Poland. Pilgrim is in the starting eleven and scores to make it 2-0. The Roma attacker can only play two more games under the new coach, and she scores another goal. If Pilgrim is healthy, she will be at the European Championships and will certainly get a chance to play.

 

Alisha Lehmann

When it comes to self-promotion, Alisha Lehmann is the best, earns a lot of money with her social media activities and is popular. In the national team, however, she is required to play football and that's where she struggles. At Juve, she usually comes off the bench and in the national team, she hasn't made the most of her opportunities. And so the 25-year-old still has to earn her European Championship ticket.

 

Seraina Piubel

Piubel struggled to get going after her move from FCZ to West Ham United and therefore also dropped down the national team hierarchy. She is now a regular at the club and her stock in the national team has risen sharply again. She is already a World Cup goalscorer and would certainly like to be a European Championship goalscorer too.

 

Coumba Sow

With FC Basel, Sow, who is a mainstay at the club, is right at the top of the Super League. She also got plenty of minutes in the national team in her first year under Sundhage. However, her performances against Germany and England were inadequate. Her chances of jumping on the European Championship bandwagon are good. However, she could also be "sacrificed" to make room for a younger player.

 

Noemi Ivelj

In the last game of the year, Ivelj is substituted for Coumba Sow at the break. And at least in this game, she clearly wins the generational duel. Ivelj's chances of jumping on the European Championship bandwagon are absolutely intact.

 

Aurélie Csillag

Csillag has great potential, but to force her way into the national team, she needs to score more goals at FC Basel. As things stand, Csillag is a shaky candidate.

 

Lydia Andrade

Andrade is a regular at RB Leipzig and thus earns her national team call-ups. Andrade is unlikely to get over the joker role. But even when she comes off the bench, she can enrich the offense with her speed.

 

Larina Baumann

Baumann made her debut for the national team under Sundhage in May of this year. She has now made five appearances, and the 26-year-old has even started three times. Her performances so far have been rock solid, but she is probably a shaky candidate due to the competition.

 

Lara Marti

Lara Marti has already proven at the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup that she has no problem subordinating herself for the good of the team. So far, Marti has also stood out by not attracting much attention, which is by no means meant in a negative way. She has put in a solid performance on the pitch and never causes a fuss off it. The fact that she was only used twice under Sundhage is due to the fact that the 25-year-old was slowed down by injuries in 2024.

 

Svenja Fölmli

In November 2023, Fölmli tore the cruciate ligament in her left knee. She suffered the same injury in her right knee a year earlier and therefore also missed the World Cup in the summer of 2023. The 22-year-old is now expected to return soon. There is still plenty of time to play her way into the limelight. It would be a real blessing for her to have her big moment at the European Championships. If she can regain the form she showed in the past, she can be trusted to do so. But now it's time to move forward step by step.

 

Eseosa Aigbogun

Aigbogun has played 99 international matches, but none under Sundhage. Aigbogun was out for months due to a cruciate ligament rupture. She made her comeback on November 3, but is not yet at 100 percent. If Aigbogun is back in top form next summer, her chances of being called up to the European Championship squad are of course absolutely intact.

 

Amira Arfaoui

Arfaoui has been a loose cannon for some time now. This is unlikely to change in the coming months. Anything is possible.

 

Riola Xhemaili

Xhemaili was once regarded as Switzerland's greatest talent, but was never quite able to live up to this reputation. What people tend to forget is that at 21, Xhemaili is still a young player with her best years ahead of her. Since this summer, she has been playing on loan for PSV Eindhoven, where she can finally show what she can do. However, she doesn't seem to have made a lasting impression on Pia Sundhage yet, and Xhemaili wouldn't have been part of the last team move of the year if Géraldine Reuteler hadn't got injured.

 

Leela Egli

In January 2024, Egli moved from FCZ to SC Freiburg. There she was given a contract until summer 2027. She makes appearances in the 1st team, but has also played in the 2nd team. In February, Sundhage invited her to the national team camp in Marbella, but since then she has only played for the U19 national team.

 

Alena Bienz

Bienz is not getting off the mark with Cologne and loses almost every weekend. At least she can't complain about a lack of match practice. Whether it will be enough for the European Championships, let's see.

 

Sandrine Mauron

Mauron played in every game at Euro 2022 and the 2023 World Cup, but never from the start. Under Sundhage, too, the Servette regular is rarely more than a substitute. Nevertheless, her prospects of playing at her home European Championships are very good.

 

Stephanie Waeber

Waeber recently got a taste of the national team, got to know the players and was able to show her skills in training. But it wasn't enough for her to make her first appearance. If the YB captain performs as diligently in the new year as she did in the preliminary round (8 goals and 2 assists in 12 games), the dream of participating in the European Championship will be alive.

 

Laura Felber

Laura Felber's name has already appeared on the match sheet 15 times in international matches. However, the 23-year-old has not made more than two brief appearances so far. She also took part in the World Cup, but did not make an appearance. Will history repeat itself at the European Championship?

 

Ella Touon

In preparation for the 2022 European Championship, Ella Touon injured herself in training and missed the major event. This season, the undisputed regular for Austrian league leaders SKN St. Pölten is also slowed down by injury. However, she returned in mid-November after a three-month absence and has since played two games in the Bundesliga and one in the Champions League. Perhaps her dream of taking part in the European Championships will come true next summer after all.

 

Northwestern Wildcats

Anna Caterina Regazzoni

The 21-year-old transferred from FCZ to college in the USA in the summer of 2022. There, the Swiss player with Hungarian roots has recommended herself for higher tasks with strong performances. The Wildcats captain was called up for the national team for the first time in July, but did not make an appearance.

 

Naomi Mégroz

Mégroz is a permanent fixture at FCZ and, despite her defensive role, has scored four goals and set up one in 11 games. She brings a lot of experience with her, but at 26 she is not yet an old hand.

 

Lia Kamber

The 18-year-old FC Luzern attacker made two brief appearances under Sundhage and was on the bench three other times. Most recently, she played for the U19s, who can still qualify for Euro 2025. To qualify for the finals in Poland (June 15-27), Switzerland would have to beat the defending champions from Spain, the Czech Republic and Scotland in their group of four. Could Kamber even end up playing two European Championship finals in the same year?

 

Noemi Benz

It would be a great success for FCZ goalkeeper Noemi Benz if she were to make the European Championship squad.

 

Caterina Tramezzani

At FC Luzern, the 19-year-old left-footer is a regular in the starting eleven. We will certainly be hearing a lot more about her in the future - but probably not until after the European Championship.

 

Leila Wandeler

The 18-year-old has made her mark for Switzerland so far, particularly in the U17 squad. She is regarded as a great talent and is under contract with Olympique Lyon, where she is to be developed in the 2nd team. However, she has been absent for some time due to hip problems. Nevertheless, Leila Wandeler should not be written off completely.

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#2: Iman Beney / BSC YB Women / Date of birth: July 23, 2006

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#3: Smilla Vallotto / Hammarby IF / Date of birth: March 23, 2004

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#4: Alayah Pilgrim / AS Roma / Date of birth: April 29, 2003

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#5: Sydney Schertenleib / FC Barcelona / Date of birth: January 30, 2007

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#6: Riola Xhemaili / PSV Eindhoven / Date of birth: March 5, 2003

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#7: Noemi Ivelj / Grasshopper Club Zürich / Date of birth: November 1, 2006

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#8: Leela Egli / SC Freiburg / Date of birth: December 11, 2006

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#10: Alena Bienz (21) / 1. FC Köln / Date of birth: March 5, 2003

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Top 10: The biggest talents in Swiss women's football

#1: Naomi Luyet / BSC YB Women / Date of birth: December 19, 2005

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#2: Iman Beney / BSC YB Women / Date of birth: July 23, 2006

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#3: Smilla Vallotto / Hammarby IF / Date of birth: March 23, 2004

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#4: Alayah Pilgrim / AS Roma / Date of birth: April 29, 2003

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#5: Sydney Schertenleib / FC Barcelona / Date of birth: January 30, 2007

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#6: Riola Xhemaili / PSV Eindhoven / Date of birth: March 5, 2003

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#7: Noemi Ivelj / Grasshopper Club Zürich / Date of birth: November 1, 2006

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#8: Leela Egli / SC Freiburg / Date of birth: December 11, 2006

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#9: Aurélie Csillag / FC Basel / Date of birth: January 24, 2003

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#10: Alena Bienz (21) / 1. FC Köln / Date of birth: March 5, 2003

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Here to stayThese 10 national team youngsters can make a splash at the home European Championships