And suddenly there are no words: bewilderment and disappointment in Geneva after the Swiss national team players lost the penalty shoot-out against their colleagues from England in the quarter-final in Düsseldorf.
Image: Keystone
When Switzerland scored the opening goal against England in the second half, the atmosphere in Lucerne really got going.
Image: Keystone
And suddenly there are no words: bewilderment and disappointment in Geneva after the Swiss national team players lost the penalty shoot-out against their colleagues from England in the quarter-final in Düsseldorf.
Image: Keystone
When Switzerland scored the opening goal against England in the second half, the atmosphere in Lucerne really got going.
Image: Keystone
It started out so hopeful and escalated into euphoria at the European Championship quarter-final match between Switzerland and England on Saturday evening in public viewing areas across the country. At the latest when the Nati scored the opening goal. The end was all the more bitter.
The excitement spread from Zurich to Basel, Bern, Geneva and Ticino - and after just over two hours, the dream of the semi-final was over again. Tears flowed in some places.
In the WintiArena in Winterthur ZH, a reporter from the Keystone-SDA news agency initially experienced "a great atmosphere". "Everyone cheered when the Swiss scored and beer cups flew through the air," he observed on Saturday evening. But then: "After the penalty shoot-out, everyone was depressed and hung their heads. There were even a few tears."
A Keystone SDA reporter experienced something similar in Geneva: a rising wave from hope to euphoria and back to trepidation and finally to an abrupt crash. But the fans had little time to mourn - the spectators for the Netherlands v Turkey match were already pressing on.
A sense of injustice may have been felt by many in the public viewings. After all, the Swiss football team had easily held their own against the English - and seemed very close to victory on several occasions. But in the end, a single penalty shot saved by the English goalkeeper was the deciding factor.
If Switzerland had won, several cities would have given the hospitality industry a free night indoors - including Zurich, Winterthur and Basel.
