After the all-important win against Iceland, Swiss national team coach Pia Sundhage not only praises her team's performance, but also the crowd.
07.07.2025, 01:03
07.07.2025, 01:52
SDA
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- Switzerland wins 2:0 against Iceland and has a good chance of reaching the European Championship quarter-finals. A draw against Finland in the last group game would be enough to progress.
- At the post-match press conference, national team coach Pia Sundhage is delighted with the crowd, which clearly exceeds all her expectations.
The Wankdorf, packed with almost 30,000 spectators, burst into a frenzy when Alayah Pilgrim scored 2:0 for Switzerland as injury time began. The fans were delighted with the victory against Iceland, which put Switzerland in pole position behind Norway in the race to qualify for the quarter-finals of the European Championship for the first time.
The all-important second goal
Whether it was 2:0 or 1:0, the main thing was to win, most of the spectators must have thought. But Pilgrim's goal could end up being worth its weight in gold for Switzerland. After all, Pia Sundhage's team now have a positive goal difference and a draw against Finland, who are level on points, is enough for them to progress. If it had remained 1-0, a penalty shoot-out would have decided the quarter-finalists in the event of a draw at the end of the preliminary round. "I didn't know that," Sundhage said after the game, without wanting to go into further detail about the starting position.
One key to success was the change of system in the second half. While Switzerland hardly created any goalscoring chances worth mentioning in the first 45 minutes in the 3-5-2 system preferred by the Swede, the 65-year-old switched to 4-4-2 after the break. "We wanted to be more flexible and thought that would give us more access in midfield." They did.
The crowd as the 12th woman
Sundhage also emphasized the support from the crowd: "Both in Basel and now in Bern, we were carried by the spectators. I didn't know that the Swiss could create such an atmosphere."
The Swiss coach was not convinced that they could now play for a draw in the final group game in Geneva on Thursday. "We scored two goals and didn't concede any, so I'm very happy about that. I just want to enjoy today."
