The Swiss team lost the opening match of its’ Euro Wednesday in Basel. Faced with Norway, Pia Sundhage’s players led to the score after a superb start but bowed 2-1.
The party could have been total on the banks of the Rhine. A domineering Switzerland, exciting players pushed by an almost full Saint-Jacques park (more than 34,000 spectators) and an opening of the deserved score: the scenario was perfect. Until Norway reverses the table in the space of five minutes, at the start of the second period.
From the initial whistle of Romanian referee Alina Pesu, the Swiss, however, was just, being as precise in their transmissions as generous in their commitment. After less than a minute of play, Iman Beney already brought the ball into the Scandinavian surface, the first thrill of this hot and festive Basel evening.
Ries omniprosters
But it is on the opposite side that the danger has accentuated. On her left flank, Nadine Riesen validated Sundhagus stubbornness and her two-piston system, a 3-5-2 which worked perfectly, at least at least.
Riesen, systematically launched in the right tempo by a Lia Wälti finally holder – she returns from a knee injury – and in full possession of her means, first tried to find her teammates in the area. But neither by the tunes nor at the ground of the player of the Eintracht Frankfurt managed to make the last difference.
It is therefore natural that she decided to take her chance, undoubtedly galvanized by the powerful strike from Géraldine Reuteler who had just crashed on the transverse bar of Cecilie Fiskerstrand, thus failing to roar the Saint-Jacques park (24th). Nadine Riesen, she saw her shooting crossing the line to offer Switzerland an opening of the score more than deserved.
The alarm clock of the stars
But Norway has two world class players in its ranks who have a rare sense of goal. On the return from the locker room, Ada Hegerbeg, 2018 Golden Ball, equalized on Corner, deceiving the vigilance of the Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng, hitherto impeccable (54th). And four minutes later, Peng was beaten by his teammate Julia Stierli, sentenced to goal against her camp by Caroline Graham Hansen, 2nd of the Ballon d’Or 2024.
The Swissses had the merit of not cracking, and the introduction of Sydney Schertenleib at the time of play gave them back, reutele forcing Fiskerstrand to a high class parade (66th). They even thought they were getting another chance to equalize when Ms. Pesu indicated the penalty point (72nd), just after Ada Hegerberg’s failure in this same exercise (70th). But an offside reported by the Var took the hope of a second Swiss goal.
With this initial defeat, Switzerland already finds itself in difficulty in group A. It has two matches left, against two opponents a priori more affordable, to reverse the trend and obtain its ticket for the quarter -finals. The first will take place in Bern on Sunday against Iceland.
/ATS
