Secret messages and an unpopular striker – the European Championship stirs up

When asked about the best day of their lives, most parents would probably name their child's birthday. Italian national coach Andrea Soncin (nicknamed "The Dreamer") also has daughters, but the best moment of his life was Italy's quarterfinal qualification. The man said this tearfully after the match. After qualifying for the semifinals on Wednesday, he remembered his daughters – and all the other girls in the country: "It's the best gift we can give to all the girls who watch us."

The 12-year-old plays soccer and follows the European Championship, both in the stadium and on television. As a left-footer, she knows about the best left foot in Switzerland. What a question! Lia W., of course. Her identification with female soccer players grows stronger. Sympathies, but also antipathies. In the Norway-Italy quarterfinal, she helps Italy. No idea why. It soon becomes clear: she doesn't like the Norwegians. An attempt at reconciliation: "But look, there's striker Ada Hegerberg." The 12-year-old replies: "She annoys me anyway." - "But why?" - "She simply annoys me."

As soon as the ball rolls, analysis, calculations, and evaluation begin. What? All sorts of things. Thanks to Connected Ball Technology, we know that Norwegian Signe Gaupset scored the fastest goal of the group stage: The ball flew into the net against Iceland at 105.5 km/h. It was also the goal from the greatest distance, 24.3 meters. Switzerland also made it into the top 5 of certain rankings: Géraldine Reuteler was among the top with nine shots on goal, as was Lia Wälti with 26 balls recovered. And the Swiss air is good for the game: More goals were scored in the group stage (89) than in the previous tournaments in 2022 (78) and 2017 (53).

In the past, if you needed to communicate something during a lesson, you would pass around notes. That's how it works on the football pitch today. In the quarter-final, England captain Leah Williamson received a note from the bench, which she read and then tucked into her leg warmers. However, the instructions can also cause confusion: In the match against Finland, Lia Wälti initially held her note upside down, turning the game system upside down. Swedish goalkeeper Jennifer Falk also read from notes on her water bottle during the penalty shootout against England. She saved four penalties. She put her own over the bar.

An article from the « NZZ am Sonntag »