Here to stay These 10 Nati youngsters could cause a sensation at the home European Championships

Many diamonds in the rough are about to make themselves indispensable for the national team. Luyet, Beney, Vallotto and all the others, the future belongs to them. It's quite possible that one or two of them will make a name for themselves at the home European Championships in the summer of 2025. blue Sport introduces the jewels.

Captain Lia Wälti (31), Noelle Maritz (28) and Ramona Bachmann (33) all have the experience of well over 100 international matches. And then, of course, there is Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic (34), who has scored 74 goals in 161 international matches, both of which are records. The four players mentioned are still an integral part of the national team and are likely to play an important role at the European Championships. And then there is Coumba Sow (30) and the currently injured 99-time international Eseosa Aigbogun (31), who are also expecting or at least hoping for a European Championship ticket. It would come as no surprise if one or other of these players were to hang up their boots after the European Championships.

But Switzerland need not worry about that. While the alarm bells are ringing for the men in Swiss football, many really strong women's players are coming through who could achieve great things in the future. blue News presents 13 players who are no older than 21 and have all been called up for the national team - and some of them have already made a big impression. They have come to stay. You can click through our top 10 in the gallery above.

 

Age: 18

Naomi Luyet

Naomi Luyet is definitely a name to remember. The 18-year-old is making a big impression at YB, scoring goals by the meter and topping the Swiss Women's Super League scoring charts. But she also regularly shines as a preparer and has played a big part in YB's rise. She proved that she has excellent shooting technique in her fifth international match against France: with a dream goal, she scored Switzerland's first win against France in over 20 years in the last test match at the Stade de Genève (see video). She is definitely a force to be reckoned with at the European Championships. In an interview with blue News, she rules out a move abroad before the European Championships. After that, many doors should be open to her, as she is undoubtedly one of the biggest talents in Switzerland.

 

Age: 18

Iman Beney

Iman Beney is Luyet's congenial partner at YB. Together they cause havoc in opposing defenses. If the then 16-year-old hadn't torn her cruciate ligament four days before leaving for New Zealand in the summer of 2023, she would already have the experience of playing in the World Cup. However, she not only missed the World Cup, but the entire last season. Now the super talent is back and has lost none of her class. Beney, whose brother Roméo (19) plays for FC Basel andwhose father shone as a goalkeeper, can be much more than just a supplementary player at the European Championships. And she can handle big events: In May 2023, she led the Swiss U17 team to the semi-finals of the European Championship, where she scored two goals and set up three in four games.

The football-mad Beney family

The Brazilian-Swiss sports family Beney: Dad Nicolas, YB super talent Iman, mom Cloe, FCB shooting star Roméo and younger brother Pablo (from left).

Image: zvg

The Beney siblings: FCB star Roméo (19), YB super talent Iman (18) and her younger brother Pablo (14).

Image: zvg

Young Iman Beney made an immediate impression in the national team in the summer of 2023.

Image: Imago

Tragic hero in January 2024: FCB shooting star Romeo Beney can no longer hold back his tears after being unfairly sent off.

Image: imago

The then assistant coach Martin Rueda comforts the completely distraught Beney.

Image: Screenshot blue. 

Romeo Beney celebrates his first goal in the Super League against Lugano on December 6, 2023.

Image: KEYSTONE

Dad Nicolas Beney is the goalkeeper of our successful U-21 team in 2001 with Reto Zanni, Alex Frei, Stephane Grichting, Johan Berisha, Ludovic Magnin, Nicolas Beney (top from left), and Daniel Gygax, Roman Friedli, Remo Meyer, Ricardo Cabanas and Stephan Keller, (bottom from left)

Image: KEYSTONE

Wil goalie Nicolas Beney in March 2004 after winning the Cup semi-final against FC St. Gallen at the Espenmoos.

Image: KEYSTONE

The football-mad Beney family

The Brazilian-Swiss sports family Beney: Dad Nicolas, YB super talent Iman, mom Cloe, FCB shooting star Roméo and younger brother Pablo (from left).

Image: zvg

The Beney siblings: FCB star Roméo (19), YB super talent Iman (18) and her younger brother Pablo (14).

Image: zvg

Young Iman Beney made an immediate impression in the national team in the summer of 2023.

Image: Imago

Tragic hero in January 2024: FCB shooting star Romeo Beney can no longer hold back his tears after being unfairly sent off.

Image: imago

The then assistant coach Martin Rueda comforts the completely distraught Beney.

Image: Screenshot blue. 

Romeo Beney celebrates his first goal in the Super League against Lugano on December 6, 2023.

Image: KEYSTONE

Dad Nicolas Beney is the goalkeeper of our successful U-21 team in 2001 with Reto Zanni, Alex Frei, Stephane Grichting, Johan Berisha, Ludovic Magnin, Nicolas Beney (top from left), and Daniel Gygax, Roman Friedli, Remo Meyer, Ricardo Cabanas and Stephan Keller, (bottom from left)

Image: KEYSTONE

Wil goalie Nicolas Beney in March 2004 after winning the Cup semi-final against FC St. Gallen at the Espenmoos.

Image: KEYSTONE

 

Age: 20

Smilla Vallotto

Vallotto was born in Geneva but grew up in Stavanger, Norway. In July 2021, she played for the first team of her training club Stabæk Fotball for the first time. After two years in Norway's top league, she moved to Sweden. She is also THE discovery of the past year. In September, she made her debut for the senior team in the Nations League and impressed with her technique and intelligence. The big party then took place in November 2023 when she won the league title with Hammarby IF. It was her team's first since 1985, around 19 years before Vallotto was born. Even though she is not always a regular, she makes a decisive contribution to winning the championship. In the all-important game, she provided the assist for 2:0 after a spectacular overhead kick. And this second goal was worth its weight in gold, because in the end Hammarby won the title ahead of IK Häcken only thanks to the better goal difference (+44 compared to +43).

 

Age: 17

Sydney Schertenleib

Sydney Schertenleib has had an emotional few weeks. In June, she moved from GC to Barcelona, where she has since played in the reserve team (5 games, 2 goals), but trains with the first team alongside superstars and world footballers such as Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati. Although she has not yet played for the professionals, she has already made four appearances on the bench.

She made her debut for the national team under Sundhage in February 2024 and has made three more appearances since then. In July, she contributed a goal in the 2-0 away win against Turkey in the European Championship qualifiers. Schertenleib, who has been nominated for the Golden Girl Award*, did not play against France, but four days earlier against Australia she made a partial appearance. Whether she plays a (major) role at the European Championship will also depend on how she develops at Barcelona. She played the full distance in all four games at the 2023 U17 European Championships.

* The Golden Girl Award, created by the Italian newspaper Tuttosport in 2022, honors the best female players in the world every year. The winners are determined by the votes of football journalists and fans. The list of ten possible winners also includes a Swiss player, Sydney Schertenleib.

 

Age: 17

Noemi Ivelj

Ivelj is also an undisputed regular at the 2023 European U17 Championship and scores the winning goal against Germany on the way to the semi-final. In September 2023, she made her debut in the national team under former coach Inka Grings. Under her successor Pia Sundhage, the GC regular has already played four times and scored a goal as a joker in the very first game under her leadership. She was absent from the senior squad for the most recent draw and instead played two test matches with the U19 team against Northern Ireland. In the 1:1 draw, she played the full distance, and three days later she opened the scoring in the 13th minute of the 4:0 victory. She has a good chance of being selected for the European Championship squad.

 

Age: 17

Leela Egli

She moves from FCZ to Freiburg in January 2024. She scored five goals in ten league games for the Zurich club in the first half of the season. Her Bundesliga adventure also got off to a promising start: on January 27, she scored on her debut against Leipzig after coming on as a substitute to make it 2-0. Five more partial appearances (1 goal) followed until the end of the season. This season, she has only made two partial appearances for the professionals (cup and league). To gain match practice, the 2023 U17 semi-finalist made two appearances for the 2nd team (Bundesliga 2) in October, but scored no goals there either. Instead of playing for the senior team, she was therefore parked in the U19s. Although Egli did not score a goal there either, she was allowed to play over 90 minutes twice, which was last the case at the club on November 26, 2023 - back then still in FCZ kit.

 

Age: 21

Alayah Pilgrim

In January 2024, Pilgrim moved from FC Zurich to AS Roma, where she signed a contract until the summer of 2027. In her first half-season, she made 14 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals and winning the league and cup double with the Romans. She missed the start of the current season due to cartilage damage in her knee. She makes her long-awaited comeback on October 5. In four games, the speedy and tricky attacking player provides two assists, one each in the league and Champions League.

After consultation with the medical departments of the national team and the club, Pilgrim has not entered the national team camp as a precautionary measure after the long injury break. Although Pilgrim only has nine caps to her name (3 goals), there seems to be no way around her when she is healthy. Although she still lacks the killer instinct in front of goal from time to time, she is a constant source of danger and gets her chances in every game.

 

Age: 21

Riola Xhemaili

In February 2019, at the age of 15, Riola Xhemaili played her first game for FC Basel in the Swiss top division. A year and a half later, she made her debut for the senior team and is considered the biggest talent in Swiss football. At Euro 2022, she was only substituted in the last group game, which caused a stir. In fact, she was already a regular at this point. The outcry was even greater when she was not called up for the World Cup by Inka Grings a year later.

The German said at the time: "Riola is a young player with huge potential. But she has simply had an extremely difficult season with very, very, very, very little playing time." It can't have been the only reason, as Xhemaili made 28 appearances for Freiburg and the national team that season (14 from the start, 14 as a substitute), gaining more match practice than some of the players called up for the World Cup.

Even before the World Cup, she signed for Wolfsburg, one of the best clubs in football. However, she hardly played for the Wolves and has been playing for PSV Eindhoven since this summer. There she seems to be blossoming again. In four games, she has provided two assists and scored one goal. She has made four international appearances under Sundhage, but has not been called up recently. If Xhemaili finds her way back to her old strength at the club, she could be worth her weight in gold for the national team.

Because she plays for SwitzerlandXhemaili receives hate comments and fights back

 

Age: 21

Alena Bienz

Ex-Lucerne player Alena Bienz is in her third season with Cologne. She is now a regular and can't complain about a lack of playing time. Nevertheless, it is difficult for her to promote herself at the moment. Cologne have already been knocked out of the cup and have just two points in the league after seven rounds. In February, she made her debut for the national team under Sundhage and was subsequently substituted twice in the European Championship qualifiers. She was not called up for the international matches against Australia and France. She can hope to take part in the European Championship, but will find it difficult due to the strong competition.

 

Age: 21

Aurélie Csillag

The attacking player transferred from GC to FCB in February 2023 with a track record of 20 goals in 59 competitive matches. She quickly became a regular in Basel. So far, she has made 37 appearances for FCB, recording five assists and 12 goals, one of them this season, which only starts on matchday 5 due to injury. Her time in red and blue also includes her debut for the Swiss national team in April 2023, for which the 21-year-old has now played five games. Csillag has played three of her five international matches under Sundhage. She will not be considered for the final squad. But if she delivers at FCB, she will be a force to be reckoned with at the European Championship.

 

Age: 18

Lia Kamber

The player made her international debut for FC Luzern in February under Pia Sundhage after a poor start to the season. This season, Kamber has started eight out of nine games for the club and has been substituted once at the break. Recently, however, she played in the U19 national team again. Next summer's European Championships may still come too soon for her. But she certainly has plenty of potential.

 

Age: 20

Noemi Benz

Noemi Benz has been the FCZ women's regular goalkeeper since summer 2023. She has made five substitute appearances for the national team. If Elvira Herzog, Livia Peng and Nadine Böhi stay healthy, she will at best travel to the European Championship as number 3 or 4.

 

Age: 20

Nadine Böhi

Nadine Böhi stands between the posts at FC St.Gallen and is currently the number 3 in the Swiss goal, even if this has never been officially communicated. She has been on the bench for the national team in the last eight matches, including the games against Australia and France. In terms of height, at 1.80 meters she towers over all her team-mates, which can certainly be an advantage as a goalkeeper. If she continues her performances on the pitch and takes another step forward, she should have a great future ahead of her.

You might also be interested in

Clubs rely on foreign talentSwiss football's young talent alert

Young talent alert in Swiss footballKnäbel: "The Austrians have left us behind for a long time"