Fanwalks and penalty shootouts: These were the highlights and flops of the European Championship

Zurich/Basel. With the European Championship final between Spain and England on Sunday (6:00 p.m./ZDF and DAZN) in Basel, a peaceful football festival comes to a close. Switzerland shone as hosts, and players and fans shared their enthusiasm.

Switzerland as host: packed stadiums, colorful cities, stunning panoramas. The attendance record from the 2022 European Championship in England (574,875) has been broken even before the final, with 623,088 visitors. The trains ran on time at a European Championship with short distances, and the fan festivities were peaceful. "Expectations for this tournament were high," said UEFA Director Nadine Keßler – and they were all exceeded.

Many spectators (35 percent of tickets) flocked to the Alpine republic from abroad and also enjoyed the tourist attractions. The fan walks before the matches provided a great atmosphere and provided some great photos. This was especially true in Bern, with a red ribbon of 20,000 people before the Swiss women's quarterfinal against Spain.

Fair play: Spain's Aitana Bonmatí (r) in a duel with Germany's Jule Brand.

Source: IMAGO/DeFodi Images

The teams' appearance: A special feature for the men, it's a given for the women – consoling their opponents after a loss. The Spanish women even sent the Swiss team off with a guard of honor on the pitch. "It was a spontaneous gesture," World Player of the Year Aitana Bonmatí explained the gesture: "Ultimately, Switzerland played a fantastic tournament."

The game was mostly fair on the pitch, too, with hardly any fouls. Three red cards were issued. Until the final, only two Germans received a straight red card: Carlotta Wamser for handball on the line and Kathrin Hendrich for her much-noticed hair-pulling.

Memorable European Championship scene: Kathrin Hendrich’s braid pulling.

Source: Georgios Kefalas/KEYSTONE/dpa

Sporting standard: Teams in Europe have become closer, and heavy defeats are rare. The highest score was a 6-1 victory between England and Wales. "The players have become more athletic, shoot better, dribble faster," Philipp Lahm summarized in "Die Zeit" – even if these are no longer quantum leaps. Besides the low number of serious injuries, the good performance of the referees was surprising. However, these countries rarely have a solid foundation in this area.

Penalty shootout: In the unparalleled quarterfinal drama between England and Sweden, the outcome was a penalty shootout. Nine of the 14 attempts went wide. The overall record before the final: of 42 penalty kicks, only 24 were converted.

The goalkeepers made eleven saves, and the ball went wide seven times. What's the reason? Better goalkeepers? More pressure in packed stadiums? For England, Chloe Kelly made a mistake deep into injury time in the semi-final against Italy, but scored on the rebound to make it 2-1.

Often, even tips on the water bottle didn’t help: penalty shootouts at the European Championships.

Source: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa

Hate messages online: England defender Jess Carter reported racist abuse and hate speech from social media users. "It's really sad that we have to deal with something like this. It's ridiculous and disgusting," said her coach Sarina Wiegman. FIFA President Gianni Infantino promised Carter help.

The partner of German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger plans to withdraw from social media for self-protection. DFB stars such as Giulia Gwinn and Lena Oberdorf have also reported online insults in the past.

Club World Cup: The men's tournament in the USA, staged by FIFA, overlapped with the European Championship in Switzerland for twelve days. The women's tournament still enjoyed better TV ratings in Germany, but this obviously didn't sit well with the organizers and UEFA.

"The Women's European Championship has always been within this period. We have to remain consistent with our timing for fans, for players, for teams, for partners," UEFA director Keßler told dpa. And: "In the future, we must strive to avoid these overlaps, so to speak, with the men's calendar. Discussions must take place."

RND/dpa