After the 6-0 defeat against Germany, Pia Sundhage is pleased to have been given plenty of material to improve on. The Swiss national coach sees the loss of substance in her team as an opportunity.
30.11.2024, 01:23
SDA
Pia Sundhage has been working as a coach for over 30 years now, but what she experienced on Friday evening in Zurich's Letzigrund is a novelty. The Swede can't remember losing 6-0 with a team before. Just as she experienced in her eleventh match as coach of the Swiss national team in the test against Germany.
"They were physically stronger and mentally smarter than us," says Sundhage, referring in particular to the second half, in which Switzerland suffered a collapse and conceded five goals. The 64-year-old was still satisfied with the first half. Because, according to the Scandinavian, if her players had played out one of their counter-attacks better in the first 45 minutes, the game could have taken a completely different turn.
Bachmann joins the absentees
It is a statement that shows that the Swiss national coach has the ability to draw positives even from an apparent debacle. "This game was a good lesson for us," says Sundhage, mentioning how her team's performance provided her with a lot of video material that she could use to address specific situations with the players and help them to improve.
For example, when the three players in the center - Coumba Sow, Smilla Vallotto and Sydney Schertenleib - repeatedly failed to find a solution to break through the Germans' compact lines and often had to chase after losing the ball. The trio is a kind of symbol of the circumstances under which the SFA selection had to play this second-last test match of the year. With captain Lia Wälti, defensive boss Luana Bühler, Géraldine Reuteler and Naomi Luyet, the absence of four of the team's mainstays in this final group match had been known for some time. A fifth player, Ramona Bachmann, was absent on match day due to the flu. The Houston Dash striker left the Swiss camp to make way for Amira Arfaoui of Werder Bremen.
Sow is reminiscent of France and Australia
Only the top global teams would be able to absorb such a loss of substance without suffering a crushing defeat. Switzerland are not that far away - even if they have made striking progress under Sundhage in recent months, which can mobilize the crowds and ensure record crowds, as in Zurich. Sundhage says that many players played against Germany who would otherwise not have been used, or only sporadically. "We in the coaching team can now give them very precise feedback and help them progress. That's very valuable."
The coach has opened up her horizons. She knows that her team doesn't have to be at its peak performance level on this cold Friday at the end of November, but only on July 2, 2025, when it opens the home European Championships in Basel. Coumba Sow is thinking along similar lines when she says: "A match like this doesn't define us. We've shown what we can do in the last two games."
The new self-image
Nadine Riesen, who has been entrusted with many defensive tasks in left midfield, points out that important players could also be absent at the European Championships and that it can therefore do no harm to spread the responsibility over many shoulders.
Every single player is important. Not just the first 15, who are usually used. It's a motto that has been heard from time to time around this national team recently. Under Sundhage, the players feel that they are important for success. Regardless of whether they are sitting on the bench or leading the team as captain. It is a self-image that was not present under predecessor Inka Grings.
In this respect, it is not surprising that the coach wants to give players a chance again in the last test match of the year on Tuesday in Sheffield against European champions England who otherwise play a supporting role. For example, the young Riola Xhemaili, Aurélie Csillag and Noemi Ivelj. Since Noelle Maritz, Viola Calligaris and Julia Stierli, who formed the central defense against Germany, are tired, adjustments are also expected in defense. "We will adjust a few tactical things," says Sundhage, "and we will look for a way to win this game."
Just like that, the Swede's optimism cannot be shaken by a 0:6.
