Switzerland face France and Iceland in the Nations League. How is the form of the 23 national team players? blue Sport does the check.
The Nations League program
- As part of the Nations League, the Swiss women's national team will face favorites France in St.Gallen on Friday (20:00) and Iceland away on Tuesday.
- Pia Sundhage has called up 23 players for the second-to-last group game before the home European Championship, who will arrive in Zurich on Monday.
- The coach has tightened the screws and is also making tough decisions. For example, Alisha Lehmann, Nadine Riesen, Coumba Sow and Riola Xhemaili are only on the standby list.
- But how did the players who were called up perform in the weeks following the last squad? blue Sport does the big national team check.
Goal
RB Leipzig
Elvira Herzog
Herzog is doing a decent job at Leipzig, but has been waiting for a clean sheet there since November 11. In the national team, she kept a clean sheet in the Nations League opener against Iceland. We would like to see that again.
Werder Bremen
Livia Peng
After the last international break, she heckled her team to victory against Hoffenheim with a strong performance. Peng also stood between the posts in the 3-1 win in the DFB Cup semi-final away against lower-ranked HSV and made all the saves she could in front of 57,000 spectators. She then had to make four saves against Frankfurt (1:4) at the weekend, but was powerless to stop the goals.
FC St.Gallen
Nadine Böhi
Thanks in part to Böhi, St.Gallen finish the regular season in 4th place. In the play-offs, they will face the Cup winners FCZ after the international break. The 21-year-old is number 3 in the national team and will not normally play.
Defense
Tottenham
Luana Bühler
Bühler has been on the bench for Tottenham in the last two games, having previously played in two matches. This has been the case for some time now. However, the 28-year-old has so far been undisputed in the national team.
RCD Espanyol Barcelona
Laia Ballesté
A new face in the national team: Ballesté is a mainstay in defense at Espanyol Barcelona and has now been called up to the national team for the first time. However, in the last game before the team's move, she is not at her best, concedes a penalty and is substituted at the break.
Juventus Turin
Viola Calligaris
After the Norway game, Calligaris said she was pretty knackered. She then missed four games in a row. At the weekend, she was back on the bench for the 3-2 defeat against Inter Milan. Even before the last few international matches, the 29-year-old was not always a regular starter for Juve. It's quite possible that she won't be in the starting eleven for both games this time around due to load management.
Aston Villa
Noelle Maritz
The 29-year-old will no doubt be feeling good as she joins the national team after her side's 2-1 win over Liverpool on Sunday extended their lead over bottom club Crystal Palace to four points. Maritz is a safe bet at Aston Villa. That's also the case with the Nati.
RB Leipzig
Lara Marti
The 25-year-old has been an international for six years, but rarely gets a chance to play. She only made one partial appearance at both the 2022 European Championship and the 2023 World Cup. She faces a similar fate this summer at her home European Championships. She is also not an undisputed regular at Leipzig and has recently come off the bench twice.
SC Freiburg
Julia Stierli
At Freiburg, fifth in the Bundesliga table, Stierli is set as a central defender. The 27-year-old is therefore certainly an option for the national team starting eleven. She played in the Nations League opener against Iceland (0:0) and was on the bench against Norway.
Midfield / Attack
Arsenal
Lia Wälti
Lia Wälti made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League with Arsenal and is second in the league, six points behind Chelsea. The national team captain has played in all seven games since the last internationals, starting three times, including in the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Géraldine Reuteler
Reuteler is having a strong season at Bayern chasing Frankfurt and has scored 11 goals and set up 6 in 21 games for Frankfurt in all competitions. Sundhage wants to see her take as much responsibility on the pitch in the national team as she does at club level, because then she can make the difference.
Barcelona
Sydney Schertenleib
She showed her class in the last few international matches, scoring a great goal in the 2-1 defeat in Norway. Since then, she has appeared in nine consecutive games for Barcelona, recording two assists in the league and a goal in the Champions League quarter-final (video below). In this form, the 18-year-old is indispensable in the Swiss attack.
Houston Dash
Ramona Bachmann
On Saturday, Bachmann will play her first game since October 29 - it was the 2:1 victory in the test match against France, in which she scored from the penalty spot to make it 1:0. She was substituted in the 60th minute of the draw against Gotham. There is a question mark over her form, but one thing is clear: Her child will be a boy ...
Seattle Reign
Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic
Crnogorcevic wasn't really able to help the team in the last campaign, which was probably also due to the fact that the championship had not yet started in the USA and she lacked rhythm. That has now changed and the 34-year-old has a few minutes under her belt. Thanks to her cleverness, she scored a penalty on Sunday, which her team-mate converted to make it 1-1 at the interval. She started the first three games of the championship for Seattle.
Hammarby IF
Smilla Vallotto
Vallotto was also not yet in rhythm when they last met, but was in the starting eleven in both games. Now she should bring even more oomph with her, as she has made a perfect start to the season with Hammarby. Three wins in the cup, followed by two clear victories in the league. The 21-year-old midfielder has started every game.
BSC YB
Iman Beney
Beney won the league phase with YB and made a significant contribution. Nevertheless, it came as a surprise that she is now in the squad. On March 15, in the second-to-last game of the regular season, the 18-year-old suffered an injury against FCZ and had to come off injured. The Bernese then announced that Beney would be out for several weeks. Whether she will actually be ready for action again remains to be seen in the coming days.
GCZ
Noemi Ivelj
Ivelj is a regular starter for GC and has also played twice from the start for the national team. However, if all the players who have been called up remain fit, she may have to take her place at the back again. But the 18-year-old has certainly earned her place in the squad.
AS Roma
Alayah Pilgrim
Sometimes Pilgrim comes off the bench for the Romans, sometimes she plays from the start, but hardly ever does she play through. The 21-year-old is quick as an arrow and also likes to go one-on-one. On a good day, she can also be worth her weight in gold for the national team.
West Ham United
Seraina Piubel
There is hardly a game in which Piubel does not play for West Ham. The question is whether she starts from the beginning or as a substitute. She was substituted against leaders Chelsea at the weekend with the score at 1-2, but West Ham ended up celebrating a 2-2 draw.
Dijon FCO
Meriame Terchoun
Terchoun is a real all-purpose weapon and can strengthen both the defense and the offense. On Sunday, she scored as a joker in the 10th minute of stoppage time after sprinting halfway across the pitch to make it 3-0.
1st FC Cologne
Alena Bienz
Cologne are having a season to forget, have just 7 points after 18 rounds and are second last. Bienz usually plays from the start, but the midfielder has not really stood out. The 22-year-old is likely to be a shaky candidate for the home European Championships.
SC Freiburg
Svenja Fölmli
On her comeback after tearing her cruciate ligament, Fölmli scored straight away at the end of January and spoke openly afterwards in an interview with blue Sport about her dream of playing in the national team again, saying: "A goal like that is also a statement." No further goals were scored in the six games that followed, but her playing time increased. And now the 22-year-old striker is actually getting her chance in the national team.
Valerenga
Naina Inauen
The 24-year-old practically applied for the national team herself, but ultimately didn't get to play in the last international matches. Now she has her next chance. Something has also happened at club level. The student moved from Lyn to champions Valerenga last week and made her debut there at the weekend. She was substituted in the 62nd minute. Will she make her debut this time?
Ready for the call-up
Eseosa Aigbogun (AS Roma), Amira Arfaoui (Werder Bremen), Noemi Benz (FCZ), Coumba Sow, Aurélie Csillag (both Basel), Alisha Lehmann (Juventus Turin), Sandrine Mauron (Servette), Noémie Potier (GCZ), Nadine Riesen (Frankfurt), Laura Schneider (Lucerne) and Riola Xhemaili (PSV Eindhoven).
