"Becoming a family": Swiss pride at the end

In the end, Switzerland deservedly lost to Spain in the Women's European Championship. Nevertheless, both the team and the country are proud.

Switzerland thanks its fans after its elimination against Spain. IMAGO/Steinsiek.ch

Switzerland's advance to the quarterfinals of this European Championship was almost a minor sensation, and the fact that they performed so well against the reigning world champions was actually a bonus. Coach Pia Sundhage 's team had little to complain about against title favorites Spain, a team packed with players who recently reached the Champions League final with FC Barcelona and are the reigning world champions. With fighting spirit, passion, and their own fans behind them, even two penalties for Spain couldn't dampen the Swiss women's spirits.

"I'm very, very proud of the entire team. We played a great tournament and it was a lot of fun," Livia Peng said, summing up the game and the European Championship after the ultimately deserved 2-0 defeat on ARD 's microphone. "Of course, disappointment prevails now; today would have been a day we could have beaten Spain," continued the goalkeeper, who saved the second penalty shortly before the end.

Switzerland was at its limit

Her teammate Geraldine Reuteler was also brimming with pride shortly after the match: "We gave our best and we could be very proud of the 0-0 score at halftime." But even the Eintracht Frankfurt player was clear that the better team had won in the end. Nevertheless, "we played to our limits, that's clear against the world champions."

One thing is also clear: Switzerland threw everything into it, not just into the match, but into the entire tournament. The fans in the sold-out Wankdorf Stadium in Bern were also honored for their performance after their late advance in the group stage against the overwhelming favorites. And not only them. The national team left the field through a Spanish guard of honor, presumably a tribute to both the performance on the pitch and that of the country itself, as well as the organization of this competition.

Spain in the semi-final against Germany?

Switzerland has grown together, and the team is now a flagship, Peng agrees: "We can take a lot away from this tournament. We've simply become a family." But the football festival in the Alps is far from over; the semifinals await next Tuesday and Wednesday. Spain may even face Germany there.