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The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Xhemaili's late leveller floors Finland and sends Switzerland into quarter-final
Switzerland ensured that local interest in Euro 2025 persists by the skin of its teeth. They were on the brink of heartbreak when Natalia Kuikka scored a late penalty to put Finland on the verge of leapfrogging them into the last eight. It looked as if they had made a mess of a manageable situation but the stands erupted when, two minutes into added time, the substitute Riola Xhemaili finished from close range. Spain await the hosts, who may now believe anything is possible. At kick-off, Geneva pulsated under the early evening sun. This felt the loudest, most partisan atmosphere of the summer so far; the city had been abuzz all afternoon, the red tide that marched towards the stadium painting a momentous picture, and the sense was of a home country finally ready to embrace the tournament's glorious turbulence unflinchingly. Switzerland's players posed for a team photograph on the pitch upon their arrival, just under two hours before the start. This was an occasion to be savoured and they quickly sought to squeeze everything from it. The noise was deafening when Svenja Fölmli, seizing on a loose ball, briefly sensed a run on goal. Their early pressure did not let up and brought a clear chance in the 11th minute when Viola Calligaris, all alone in front of goal after a free-kick had not been cleared, shaped for an extravagant bicycle kick but completely miscued. It was an ambitious contortion for a centre-back to attempt. Next came a more familiar incursion from Sydney Schertenleib, the gifted young Barcelona forward, and a 20-yard curler that Anna Koivunen beat away. Fölmli backheeled wide moments later and Switzerland, earning hefty marks for inventiveness, were bashing at the door. Naturally they were almost punished for that profligacy, a late-arriving Oona Sevenius seeing her header saved near the line by Livia Peng after consecutive Finland corners. There was an urgency to Finland when they did commit players forward. Switzerland's failings at both ends in their opening defeat to Norway would not have gone unnoticed and at least, by the half hour, Marko Saloranta's side had a foothold from which to test home nerves. Perhaps Switzerland were unsure whether to stick or twist. Their momentum had dulled, although Smilla Vallotto was given a now rare opening and placed wide from 15 yards. As half-time approached proceedings had become scrappy; an increasingly pensive crowd was almost aghast when Peng held on brilliantly to prevent Eva Nyström unwittingly putting Finland in front after deflecting a free-kick. Presumably distressed by the loss of tempo, Sundhage made two changes at the interval. Oona Siren, the clever West Ham midfielder, had begun to dictate for Finland. But the question was whether, with the onus on them, her team could find the goal they required. The Finns were increasingly allowed possession, their opponents' plan presumably being to counterattack them into oblivion. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion A right-sided burst by Iman Beney, who joined Manchester City last month, fleetingly threatened such consequences. But a genuine shooting chance did not arrive until the 63rd minute, when Vallotto drilled straight at Koivunen. Then Leila Wandeler, one of the replacements, ballooned over; at the other end, anxiety was palpable whenever Finland even hinted at ruining the party. Switzerland now looked more likely to turn the screw. Another Wandeler break brought a cross just too high for an unmarked Vallotto. This time they faced bitter consequences, Sanni Franssi struggling to extricate herself from a tussle on the byline before Emma Koivisto took over. She was hacked down by Calligaris, the penalty award impossible to dispute. Kuikka kept her cool after waiting for an eternity; desolation seemed to await the Swiss until Xhemaili swept home.
Al Arabiya
7 days ago
- Sport
- Al Arabiya
Euro 2025: Host Switzerland's Late Goals Secure 2-0 Win Over Iceland
Host nation Switzerland put its Women's European Championship campaign back on track with a 2–0 win over Iceland on Sunday, eliminating its opponents in the process. Géraldine Reuteler netted with 14 minutes remaining as the Stadion Wankdorf erupted in celebration in a sea of red, and Alayah Pilgrim sealed the result in the final minute. It will now be all to play for on Thursday when Switzerland meets Finland in their final group match, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake. Both teams are level on three points–three points behind Norway, which beat Finland 2–1 earlier and has now advanced to the knockout stage as Group A champion. Iceland has zero points and is out of the tournament regardless of what happens in its final match against Norway. In contrast to when the teams played the opening matches last Wednesday, when Switzerland was engulfed by a heat wave, it was raining for most of the match in Bern. Iceland almost scored in the opening minute, but Ingibjörg Sigurdardóttir volleyed off the crossbar. Switzerland thought it had taken the lead on the half-hour mark. A corner was whipped in, and Svenja Fölmli's header was inadvertently nodded into the net by Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir. Swiss fans celebrated, but it was ruled out after a review on the pitchside monitor for a foul by Fölmli in the buildup. Inside a packed stadium with a capacity crowd of nearly 30,000, the 2,000 Icelandic fans made themselves heard with their thunder claps, while the equally fervent home support yelled 'Hopp Schwiiz.' And almost all of them thought Switzerland had taken the lead in stunning fashion in first-half stoppage time, as Iman Beney's long-range attempt rippled the side netting. Iceland started the second half in almost exactly the same way it had started the first–by hitting the crossbar. This time, Karolína Lea Vilhjalmsdóttir's free kick skimmed the top of the woodwork. Switzerland had barely had a shot on target until it broke the deadlock in the 76th minute. Sydney Schertenleib threaded an intelligent ball through for Reuteler to run onto and slot into the far bottom corner. And Switzerland wrapped up its first win in its home tournament when Pilgrim collected a pinpoint pass from another substitute, Leila Wandeler, and cut inside before curling into the back of the net.
Associated Press
7 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Euro 2025: Host Switzerland's late goals secure 2-0 win over Iceland
BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Host nation Switzerland put its Women's European Championship campaign back on track with a 2-0 win over Iceland on Sunday, eliminating its opponents in the process. Géraldine Reuteler netted with 14 minutes remaining as the Stadion Wankdorf erupted in celebration in a sea of red, and Alayah Pilgrim sealed the result in the final minute. It will now be all to play for on Thursday when Switzerland meets Finland in their final group match, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake. Both teams are level on three points — three points behind Norway, which beat Finland 2-1 earlier and has now advanced to the knockout stage as Group A champion. Iceland has zero points and is out of the tournament regardless of what happens in its final match against Norway. In contrast to when the teams played the opening matches last Wednesday, when Switzerland was engulfed by a heat wave, it was raining for most of the match in Bern. Iceland almost scored in the opening minute but Ingibjörg Sigurdardóttir volleyed off the crossbar. Switzerland thought it had taken the lead on the half-hour mark. A corner was whipped in and Svenja Fölmli's header was inadvertently nodded into the net by Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir. Swiss fans celebrated but it was ruled out after a review on the pitchside monitor for a foul by Fölmli in the buildup. Inside a packed stadium, with a capacity crowd of nearly 30,000, the 2,000 Icelandic fans made themselves heard with their thunder claps, while the equally fervent home support yelled 'Hopp Schwiiz.' And almost all of them thought Switzerland had taken the lead in stunning fashion in first-half stoppage time as Iman Beney's long-range attempt rippled the side netting. Iceland started the second half in almost exactly the same way it had started the first — by hitting the crossbar. This time Karolína Lea Vilhjalmsdottir's free kick skimmed the top of the woodwork. Switzerland had barely had a shot on target until it broke the deadlock in the 76th minute. Sydney Schertenleib threaded an intelligent ball through for Reuteler to run onto and slot into the far bottom corner. And Switzerland wrapped up its first win in its home tournament when Pilgrim collected a pinpoint pass from another substitute Leila Wandeler and cut inside before curling into the back of the net. ___ AP soccer:
