Pia Sundhage faces her 'biggest challenge' as she prepares host nation Switzerland for Euro 2025
GENEVA: Soccer great Pia Sundhage's long international career stretches back a decade beyond the first Women's European Championship she won decisively for Sweden in 1984.
Now aged 65, the two-time Olympic title-winning coach — both times for the United States — is preparing host nation Switzerland's team to kick off Euro 2025 next Wednesday.
"I would say it's the biggest challenge I have ever had," said Sundhage, who has coached in a World Cup final, three Olympic gold-medal games and a Copa América final. "It is really, really interesting."
Her first tournament coaching the Swiss is 41 years after the inaugural Euros was won in conditions that seem more than a lifetime ago for women's soccer.
In 1984, the four-team UEFA competition was home-and-away semifinals and final, with second legs played weeks after the first in games of 70 minutes, not 90. The title was won in England with fewer than 3,000 fans in the stadium and no national television coverage.
Sweden beat England in a penalty shootout after each won the home leg 1-0. At the muddy, rain-soaked home field of Luton Town, Sundhage added to her first-leg goal to score the winning spot-kick, captured in fuzzy footage of the game.
The Swedish champions got home to find their victory celebrated in a rare two-page newspaper spread.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
41 minutes ago
- India Today
The KL Rahul comeback: Are India reaping rewards of Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nayar's work?
India batter KL Rahul has been enjoying some sensational form since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. A gritty outing in Australia and then two fantastic performances in the Champions Trophy 2025 and Indian Premier League, KL Rahul is enjoying one of the best patches of his the absence of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Test series against England, Rahul has started strongly as well, hitting a century in the second innings of the opening Test match. Former India batting coach Abhishek Nayar has revealed that Rahul's revival of form was one of the main projects he undertook during his tenure with the Indian I first picked up that role, I remember I had a conversation with Rohit, and he said that one of the things he was really keen on me doing was working with KL and bringing out a more aggressive outlook to how KL played the game, and bringing the best out of him because he believed strongly that KL would play a major role in the Champions Trophy, World Cup and everything going forward including the BGT [Border-Gavaskar Trophy] and the Tests in England," Abhishek Nayar told ESPNcricinfo in an Rahul's Comeback in 2024 The current KL Rahul is vastly different from the KL Rahul of 2023, who was heavily criticised for his outing in the ODI World Cup 2023 final. In that match, Rahul got stuck between gears and failed under the pressure of the big occasion against Pat Cummins' Australia Rahul was dropped from the T20 World Cup team in 2024 and was also let go by his Indian Premier League franchise, Lucknow Super revealed that drastic changes needed to be made in KL Rahul's technique and mentality, and the duo got to work during India's ill-fated Test series against New Zealand."Australia was going to be critical for him because it was almost like what if you didn't get runs there, then where is his career going? Because he was out of the T20 [squad]. Then this could also very well have been his last series. I told him, listen, we've got 15 days to prepare before we go to Australia. And take those 10 days there, we have got almost a month to prepare. What do you want to do? How do you want to approach this? What is your mindset?" Nayar former cricketer revealed that he fixed Rahul's skills first and then got working on the mental side of the game. KL Rahul's improved batting reflected in the Champions Trophy, where the batter finished matches with sixes, something that was not seen in his batting before."He spoke about what he's been doing and what worked for him in the past. And then I had a certain thought process, which was very different from his. Over hours and hours of conversation and trying to make him understand where I came from, eventually I got him to a place where he sort of trusted me to do certain things with him in regards to how he practises, in regards to trusting certain changes in his tactics, in regards to his stance, where he stands in the crease, what guard he takes," Nayar reported that Abhishek Nayar continues to work with KL Rahul in a personal capacity despite being sacked from the Indian team. Rahul would hope to continue his form and play some impactful innings in England.- EndsTune InMust Watch
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Surprise pick! Neeraj Chopra thinks this Indian cricketer could dominate javelin too- Watch
India's Neeraj Chopra (PTI Photo/Ravi Choudhary) Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra identified Indian cricket team 's fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah as having the potential to excel in javelin throw during a special segment on Star Sports hosted by Navjot Singh Sidhu. The two-time Olympic gold medalist made this assessment based on the physical attributes and techniques that fast bowlers possess. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Chopra specifically pointed to Bumrah 's fitness and strength as key factors that would make him suitable for javelin throw if he were not already established in cricket. "I think it would be a fast bowler for sure. So, I think a fully fit Jasprit Bumrah will be good at it," Chopra said on Star Sports. Bumrah's recent performance in cricket demonstrates his physical prowess. In the first Test match against England at Headingley, he secured his 14th five-wicket haul in the first innings, though he was unable to take wickets in the second innings. The match resulted in England's victory as they successfully chased down a target of 371 runs, with Ben Duckett scoring 149 runs. This win gave England a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. Bumrah's statistics in 2024 showcase his exceptional capabilities. He has taken 78 wickets in just 15 Test matches, leading all fast bowlers globally during this period. Team India's Intense Nets at Edgbaston| Prep for 2nd Test vs England His workload has been significant, bowling 410.4 overs, which is the highest among all pace bowlers worldwide. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Everybody Is Switching To This Enterprise Accounting Software [Take a Look] Accounting ERP Click Here This surpasses Australia's Mitchell Starc, who has bowled 362.3 overs, and England's Gus Atkinson with 328 overs and 54 wickets. Among Indian bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja is the only other player to exceed 400 overs, bowling 400.1 overs. Mohammed Siraj, who has played the same number of matches as Bumrah, has bowled 355.3 overs. Quiz: Who's that IPL player? Due to workload management considerations, Bumrah is expected to be rested for the upcoming Test at Edgbaston. Siraj is anticipated to lead the pace attack, despite his underwhelming performance in the Headingley Test. The second Test of the series is scheduled to begin on July 2 in Birmingham, where India will attempt to level the series against England. This discussion about Bumrah's potential in javelin throw highlights the crossover of athletic abilities between cricket and track and field events, particularly the similarities in physical requirements between fast bowling and javelin throwing. The announcement was made as part of the promotion for the upcoming Neeraj Chopra Classic javelin throw event, scheduled for July 5, which will be broadcast on Star Sports. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
Neeraj Chopra regains top spot to enter NC Classic as world no.1, Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem fourth in latest rankings
Two-time Olympic medal winner Neeraj Chopra has regained his top spot in the latest rankings and will enter the Neeraj Chopra Classic as the top-ranked javelin thrower. Neeraj, who won gold at Tokyo Olympics and silver in Paris last year, currently has 1445 points, thus displacing Grenada's Anderson Peters (1431) in the second place. Neeraj had lost his top spot to Peters last year. German ace Julian Weber is third at 1407 points, followed by Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem (1370) at fourth.
