Pilgrim manifests Euro knockout destiny with Swiss goal
As her side clung on to a 1-0 lead, the 22-year-old came off the bench in the 78th minute on a wet, slippery night and, as the clock clicked past 90 minutes, she fired a deflected effort that gave the Swiss a 2-0 cushion that teed them up for a final-game showdown against Finland on Thursday, with a place in the last eight at stake.
"Actually, before I came in, I was manifesting a bit. I wanted to score this goal really bad, and I wanted to be a game-changer, and that was in my mind. So I just took the ball, went right, and shot to the shot," she told Reuters, still caught up in the joy of the moment.
"I was in my moment. Actually, I was just like, I don't know what I felt! I felt so many things in my body, and so much energy and emotions and the crowd. Of course, it was an amazing feeling."
Pilgrim's effort took a deflection that wrong-footed the Icelandic goalkeeper but the crowd still celebrated wildly, knowing that the three points give them an excellent chance to secure a spot in the last eight if they can manage at least a draw with the Finns.
With Norway top of Group A on six points and the Swiss second on three, ahead of Finland on goal difference, Pilgrim said she would likely take the same approach ahead of the decisive game with Finland.
"Manifesting is a good thing, and we're really looking forward to playing against Finland and get another win," she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Italy dare to dream again ahead of Women's Euro quarter-final
BERN, Switzerland :A win and a draw in their opening two Women's Euro Group B matches rendered Italy's 3-1 defeat by Spain on Friday irrelevant as they progressed to the knockout stage of the competition for the first time since 2013. Top-four finishers at six of the first seven Euro competitions, Italy have endured a barren spell since and have made the knockout round only twice in the 21st century. Friday's joy at the final whistle, despite the loss to Spain, showed what it meant to the Italian players. "A magical night. We all dreamed together, we all dreamed because in the end everyone dreamed for a long time. We have reached our great goal and we do not want to stop, we want to continue dreaming and making Italians dream," midfielder Annamaria Serturini said on Saturday. ""We have a great desire to do well, to continue dreaming, to continue writing important pages of a story that is only at the beginning." Italy finished second in Group B on four points, five behind Spain and one ahead of Belgium, who beat Portugal 2-1 to prevent them from progressing. Those results set Italy up for a quarter-final meeting with Group A winners Norway in Geneva on Wednesday and, having survived a tricky group stage, the Italians are relaxed and full of self-belief. "The next step is to prepare for the match against Norway, to take care of the details, which are the most important thing, and to go out on the field with a smile and a carefree attitude to live this magnificent dream," Serturini said. "We should be able to take advantage of the opportunities we will have by raising the level," fellow forward Michaela Cambiaghi said. "Maybe we will have fewer opportunities, so we will have to be good at taking advantage of them."
CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Van der Merwe scores hat-trick as Lions crush AUNZ 48-0
Winger Duhan van der Merwe grabbed a hat-trick of tries as the British & Irish Lions crushed the invitational Australia-New Zealand (AUNZ) team 48-0 in an eight-try clinic at Adelaide Oval on Saturday. The hulking Scotland flier touched down twice early in the first half and notched up his third try after the hour-mark as the Lions took their fifth straight win on their Australian tour following a clean sweep of the provincial teams. Owen Farrell came on early in the second half to a chorus of jeers from the crowd, replacing outside centre Huw Jones in his first appearance on tour since his controversial call-up by father-coach Andy Farrell. Head coach Farrell will have been pleased with the physicality and accuracy of his players but has another injury concern after hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie suffered a head-knock late in the first half and was carted off the field.
CNA
5 hours ago
- CNA
India's top league ISL on hold, federation says
India's top-flight soccer league, the Indian Super League, is on hold, the country's football federation (AIFF) announced on Saturday, citing stalled negotiations for a contract renewal with their commercial partners, Reliance-led Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL). Talks to renew the 2010 agreement stalled after India's Supreme Court asked the AIFF not to renew their deal with FSDL until its order, the federation said. A case to implement a new constitution for the AIFF is ongoing at the country's Supreme Court. "The AIFF was advised by its legal counsel that during a hearing on April 26, 2025, the Honourable Supreme Court of India made an observation that the renewal of the Master Rights Agreement should not be done until its order," the AIFF said. "Consequently, based on legal advice... renewal discussions have been in abeyance." Media reports said that the deal between the AIFF and FSDL is set to expire in December. The 2024-25 season of the ISL kicked off in September, featuring 13 clubs.
