Latest news with #StephaneMahe
The Star
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Switzerland cancel training session ahead of Spain clash due to illness
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group A - Finland v Switzerland - Stade de Geneve, Geneva, Switzerland - July 10, 2025 Switzerland players pose for a team group photo before the match REUTERS/Stephane Mahe OBERENTFELDEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -Switzerland's preparations for their Women's Euro quarter-final clash with Spain were thrown into disarray on Tuesday when the team had to cancel a training session due to sickness within the squad. Less than half an hour before the session was due to begin, the Swiss football association messaged media covering the team on WhatsApp to say that it had been cancelled. "Today's planned training session has been postponed until tomorrow. The background: In the past few days, some players have felt the symptoms of a cold," the message said. "In order to ensure a high-quality training programme, the technical staff have decided to give today off and complete the training session planned for today tomorrow. We apologise for the short notice." The hosts, who came second in Group A to make the knockout stage, are set to meet reigning world and Nations League champions Spain in their last-eight clash in Bern on Friday. (Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
5 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Euro 2025 group games draw record crowds
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group C - Germany v Denmark - St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland - July 8, 2025 Germany players celebrate after the match REUTERS/Stephane Mahe OBERENTFELDEN, Switzerland (Reuters) -The group stage of the Women's European Championship which finished on Sunday had record-breaking attendances with close to half a million fans attending games, and 22 of the 24 of them sold out. As well as 461,582 fans attending matches, there were several individual game records as well, according to European soccer's governing body UEFA. The Germany v Denmark match in Basel drew 34,165 fans, which was the highest attendance at a group game not involving the host nation and the most spectators to attend a women's football match in Switzerland. The more than 17,000 fans from Germany at that game was the most away fans to attend a women's Euro match ever while the crowd of 34,063 at Switzerland's game against Norway was a record crowd at a Swiss women's national team match. "If it was not clear before, it is undeniable now – women's football is unstoppable and here to stay," Nadine Kessler, UEFA's head of women's football, said in a statement. "This is more than a tournament; its' a movement, and the response from across Europe and beyond proves that women's football is not only here to stay – it is setting the new standard." Even before the tournament kicked off, Euro 2025 had sold more than 600,000 tickets to surpass the 574,875 sold in 2022 in England. Some 60,000 fans took part in fan walks to the stadiums, including 14,000 Swiss and Icelandic supporters who walked three kilometres to that game at the Stadion Wankdorf in Bern. The tournament has also been a success on digital platforms, with 8.4 million engagements across its social media platforms, a 55% increase over the same period in 2022. Spain and England scored 14 goals apiece in the group stage, matching the mark set by the English in 2022. Wales' Jess Fishlock became the oldest women's Euro goalscorer at the age of 38 years and 176 days. The quarter-finals begin in Geneva on Wednesday when Norway play Italy. (Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond)
The Star
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Disappointed Dutch come up short as they exit Women's Euros
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group D - Netherlands v France - St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland - July 13, 2025 Netherlands' Jill Roord looks dejected with teammates after the match REUTERS/Stephane Mahe BASEL (Reuters) -Netherlands crashed out of the Women's Euros on Sunday, falling to a 5-2 defeat by France that meant they finished third in Group D, condemning the 2017 champions to an early exit after another disappointing defensive collapse. They took a 2-1 lead in the first half but had no answer in the second when French attacker Delphine Cascarino ran riot, creating one goal and scoring two more as France roared to victory to make it three wins from three in the group, while the Dutch managed only a single victory over bottom side Wales. "We went through the wall today we gave it all today unfortunately we gave away the 2-2 and then something broke in the team so I will not look at the end result -- of course, it was disappointing," Dutch coach Andries Joncker said. "But you know that when it happens, you can suffer a heavy defeat, but even after France scored the fourth goal, the team did everything to prevent a bigger loss." The Dutch suffered a similar defensive meltdown against England as they slumped to a 4-0 defeat in their second group game that left them needing a three-goal win over France to progress. They never really looked like getting it, but Joncker told his players after the game that he was proud of them. "(I told them) that we played a fantastic first half, that we were a good team, but it was not good enough. Looking at the three games together, I think we did not show enough in order to make it through to the next round," he said. "We made a number of individual mistakes and we literally were playing with the knife at our throats, because we conceded a number of goals, which meant that we had to score even more goals, so my conclusion is that the potential of this team is immense, but that currently we're not there yet." (Reporting by Philip O'ConnorEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
10-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-Swiss players revel in historic moment after reaching Euro quarter-finals
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group A - Finland v Switzerland - Stade de Geneve, Geneva, Switzerland - July 10, 2025 Switzerland's Riola Xhemaili celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Stephane Mahe GENEVA (Reuters) -Switzerland's players were basking in the excitement of making history on Thursday after Riola Xhemaili's 92nd-minute goal against Finland put them through to the Women's Euros quarter-finals for the first time. "It's a historic moment for the whole of Switzerland. We're showing the whole world what Swiss people can do... it's magical," Xhemaili told Reuters after her goal gave the tournaments hosts a 1-1 draw with Finland which was all they needed to progress. Since they first qualified for the Euros in 2017, Switzerland's women's side had never gone past the group stage, nor had they ever seen such a huge level of support at their games. "I think nobody of us expected things to happen in Switzerland -- sold out crowds... Everything is blowing up way bigger than we ever expected," Swiss captain Lia Walti said. "We couldn't even imagine having this when we were little," added defender Viola Calligaris. "And now it's like this for every match. We felt the people cheering — that really gives you strength." The Stade de Geneve saw its biggest attendance of the tournament so far on Thursday, with 26,388 fans watching. "It's so much more fun to coach and play when you have a loud crowd," said Switzerland's coach Pia Sundhage, adding that she hoped the team's performance would inspire the next generation of players. The Swiss hosts are hoping the legacy of the tournament, being played across eight cities with the final on July 27, will bolster female football in the country as Euro 2022 did for champions England. The Swiss FA's stated aim is to double the number of female players from the 40,000 currently registered by 2027. First, though, for Switzerland is a quarter-final next Friday against the winners of Group B which, as things stand, would be World Cup winners Spain. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; editing by Clare Fallon)
The Star
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Star
Soccer-England's French pressing problem leads to Women's Euro defeat
Soccer Football - UEFA Women's Euro 2025 - Group D - France v England - Stadion Letzigrund, Zurich, Switzerland - July 5, 2025 England players look dejected after the match REUTERS/Stephane Mahe ZURICH (Reuters) -England came into the Women's Euros as reigning champions and promptly fell into a trap set for them by a cunning French side who ruthlessly exploited their errors en route to a 2-1 Group D win on Saturday that puts the Lionesses in a precarious position after their opening game. A bright start for England resulted in a disallowed goal before giving way to a flat, listless performance that saw them concede two goals in the first half and, despite a late onslaught following a Keira Walsh goal, there were few positives England could take from the game. Faced with the lightning counter-attacking of France, England could not afford to give away the ball but they did so repeatedly and cheaply, especially in the middle of the field. "The positive is that I've not seen us like that, in terms of turning the ball over so much, for a while," England captain Leah Williamson said. "When you lose the ball cheaply, you're defending in an emergency. When you concede four or five counter-attacks in a row against quality like France have, it is tough." As England coach Sarina Wiegman pointed out after the game, the French were selective in how they pressed, waiting until England tried to pass their way out of small spaces and pouncing on any poor touch that was made. The French attack, which often looked static on the night, took winning possession as a cue to surge towards the English goal and by the time the Lionesses showed any sign of solving the puzzle posed by the French press, it was too late. England now face Netherlands on Wednesday knowing another defeat will see them out of the competition. "It was a big game as it was but now it's an even bigger game for us as a must-win," winger Beth Mead said. "We'll analyse this game that we've just played, we'll put ourselves in good stead, and we'll prepare the best we can for the Netherlands game." (Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Clare Fallon)
