Soccer-Hot weather, cool tempers as Germans and Swedes meet at Women's Euros
ZURICH (Reuters) -Cold beer flowed from taps on a hot afternoon while German and Swedish fans sang tribal songs ahead of their final Women's Euros group game in Zurich on Saturday, but there was no sign of the kind of alcohol-fuelled violence that has besmirched so many major men's championships.
At thefan zone on the city's Europaplatz, Swedish fans outside one bar burst into song, roaring "Stand up, we are gold and blue!" while their white-clad German counterparts stood and raised their glasses in salute.
The two sides meet to decide the top two places in Group C on Saturday at the city's Stadion Letzigrund, and before the game they mingled freely, with only a discreet police presence keeping an eye on the two sets of fans.
"I think there's a lot more hospitality in women's football," Swedish fan Oscar Berg said in a packed downtown beer garden where he was sitting with German fan Karin Schoch, who had travelled to Zurich from her home near Stuttgart earlier in the day.
"I think we both enjoy the game, and even though we're only meeting each other today, I think we can both agree on our love for football, and we can discuss it in a fun way," Berg said.
"The atmosphere is not like this (at men's football in Germany), it's different - it's okay, but it's great here, this is better," Schoch said.
Alongside the Swedish and German colours, there were shirts from Switzerland, Finland, Iceland and Brazil in evidence, as well as a host of international clubs. German fans at the tournament have produced special commemorative badges for each game that they are selling for charity.
The fan culture of women's football has long been different from the men's game, and though there are worries that the increasing popularity of the women's game might begin to attract more aggressive elements, German fan Natalie Galvowsky said the only difference she noticed so far was in numbers.
FILLING STADIUMS
"I've been following the German team since 2019,the amount of supporters is a lot different. When we look back to 2019, Ithink there were 10,000 people in the stadium in Germany, and today we can fill really, really big stadiums, like 44,000 people," she told Reuters.
"On the men's side, you can't do it like this," she said, indicating the fans mingling behind her. "Here, Sweden and Germany are together, celebrating together, sitting next to each other, and I think when you're going to the men's matches, you don't have this atmosphere."
A few metres away, Sweden's "Soft Hooligans" fan group was preparing for its march to the stadium, with adults and children having their faces painted and drummers adjusting their equipment for a long night of musical support ahead.
"I think that's the first time at the Euros where the other team had the majority here at the fan zone. In St. Gallen and Basel there were more Germans than the others," Galvowsky said.
"It's really peaceful, and I think it's good to see how we are sitting together ... we talked with them, so yeah, really friendly."
Even though spirits were higher than the soaring temperature as kick-off approached, the day passed off without incident.
"No arrests, and everyone was in a good mood and looking forward to the match," the Zurich city police told Reuters.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor, additional reporting by John Revill, editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Soccer-Swedish fans snap up tickets for Women's Euro knockout clash with England
OBERENTFELDEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -The Swedish national team received a boost as their fans went on a ticket-buying frenzy on Monday, buying up all the available spots in their section for Thursday's Women's Euro quarter-final game against England in Zurich within an hour of going on sale. The Swedish fans formed a noisy yellow wall behind one of the goals in each of their three Group C games, winning all three to set up the last-eight showdown with reigning champions England, who beat them in the semi-finals at the last tournament. "This news gives the whole team so much energy in the build-up to the quarter-finals," forward Madelen Janogy said in a statement issued by the Swedish Football Association (SvFF). "The support from everyone there has been incredible so far, and we are really looking forward to playing in front of a full house of yellow supporters again on Thursday. Together, we will do everything we can to win against England and advance." The SvFF said that the 2000 tickets allocated to the Swedes went on sale at 0900 CET on Monday and that they sold out within 60 minutes, and advised fans who missed out to keep an eye on UEFA's public ticket portal. (Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Motor racing-Formula E rookie test pits women alongside the men in Berlin
Formula One F1 - British Grand Prix - Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Britain - July 2, 2022 Racing X's Abbi Pulling celebrates with a trophy after finishing third in the W Series race REUTERS/Molly Darlington (Reuters) -Formula E would love to have a female driver back on the starting grid but, on times alone, the all-electric series' rookie test in Berlin on Monday suggested that it remained some way off. Four women took part in the test after weekend races at Tempelhof but the highest in the overall classification was Abbi Pulling, last year's F1 Academy champion and current GB3 competitor, in 17th with the Nissan team. Fellow-Briton Ella Lloyd, who competes in British F4 and F1 Academy, was 18th for McLaren and Jamie Chadwick, three-times winner of the now-defunct W Series and a Williams F1 development driver now racing in European Le Mans, was 19th for Jaguar. Bianca Bustamante of the Philippines, a GB3 racer with 1.7 million followers on Instagram, was 22nd and last for the Cupra Kiro team although the entire grid was separated by just 1.550 seconds. Italian Gabriele Mini was overall fastest for Nissan in a field that included former F1 racer Daniil Kvyat, Charles Leclerc's younger brother Arthur and leading Formula Two drivers. Formula E chief executive Jeff Dodds told Reuters ahead of the test that he was optimistic a woman would make it back onto the grid before too long. "We went from no women testing really, to 20 women in the official women's test last year and off the back of that we've actually got four women testing in the actual rookie test now in Berlin," he said. "So that's a big jump, we've made progress. "In the end the teams will make a choice based on what their objectives are in terms of building a fan base, promoting themselves as a team, bringing on sponsors and partners and being as successful as they can be. "It may not be next year but I would love over the next couple of years to see women back racing on that grid." Three women have raced in the series, which is now in its 11th season -- Britain's Katherine Legge twice in 2014, Switzerland's Simona de Silvestro started 12 times in 2015-16 and Michela Cerruti four times in 2014-15. De Silvestro is the only one to have scored points. Unlike Formula E, Formula One has not had a woman start a race since Lella Lombardi in 1976. Pulling, who was top in last year's all-female test, told Reuters recently she saw Formula E as "a really viable career path in the future". "For now I'm going to keep going up the ladder as far as possible and see where things take me," she said. "I don't have the finances to plan massively in advance so it all depends on how I perform this year." (Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Cricket-Rejuvenated Stokes leads England to epic Lord's win
Cricket - International Test Match Series - Third Test - England v India - Lord's Cricket Ground, London, Britain - July 14, 2025 England's 6 Ben Stokes celebrates after taking the wicket of India's Jasprit Bumrah Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra LONDON (Reuters) -England captain Ben Stokes was named player of the match after taking five wickets in his team's dramatic 22-run victory over India in the third test at Lord's as well as scoring 44 and 33 and running out the dangerous Rishabh Pant in a splendid all-round performance. Stokes, 34, underwent a successful operation on as torn hamstring in December followed by a rigorous physical fitness programme during which he lost 10 kilograms in weight. On Sunday he showed he was back to his best with the ball, knocking nightwatchman Akash Deep's off stump out of the ground as England captured three wickets in the final 30 minutes with India chasing 193 to take a 2-1 lead in the series. He resumed the attack from the Nursery End in Monday's morning session, bounding in for 80 minutes and capturing the key wicket of KL Rahul with a delivery which swung in late to trap the Indian opener for 39 after winning a review when his impassioned appeal was turned down. The television review showed the ball would have crashed into the leg stump and he continued to bowl at speeds consistently in excess of 85 miles an hour before handing the ball to Chris Woakes for the final 20 minutes of the morning session. An obdurate ninth-wicket stand between Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah, cheered vociferously by the Indian supporters in a packed Lord's, frustrated England for most of the afternoon before Stokes had Bumrah caught skying a hook to mid-on. He finished with three for 46 from 24 overs, the most bowled by any England bowler, and switched his fielders constantly before racing to embrace his team mates when last man Mohammed Siraj played the ball on to his stumps. "I've taken myself to some pretty dark places," Stoke said after the match concluded in bright sunshine before a capacity crowd at the home of cricket. "But if bowling for your country to a test match win doesn't get you excited, I don't know what does. I was cooked yesterday but nothing was stopping me. I'm an all-rounder, I get four opportunities to influence the game." "I'd like to score more runs but you don't have a chance to worry about anything. Now I'm going to be looking forward to lying in my bed for four days." (Editing by Ed Osmond)
