Iman Beney, Sydney Schertenleib, Leila Wandeler: What you need to know about the young wild ones in the Swiss national team

They play boldly and exude youthful ease: The teenagers of the Swiss national team are taking advantage of the European Championship at home. They have long since impressed the world's best clubs. Leila Wandeler skipped the Super League and went straight to Olympique Lyon, Iman Beney will play for Manchester City after the European Championship. And Sydney Schertenleib was signed by FC Barcelona via Instagram.

The path to the goal is long, 35 meters at least, but Iman Beney doesn't care. She takes heart, as they say in football jargon. And the ball flies just wide of the Icelandic goal, even grazing the side netting. The young Valais native misses a goal she would have remembered for a long time, perhaps her entire career. But the scene from injury time in the first half against Iceland epitomizes what defines her performance: Beney appears fearless, and she dashes along the right touchline with audacity and relentless relentlessness.

That's where national coach Pia Sundhage has again deployed her this Sunday evening, as a right winger, tasked with maintaining order defensively and contributing offensively. It's a complicated task, especially for an 18-year-old footballer who normally operates in attack. But Beney not only charges forward this evening, she also defends steadfastly and defiantly. She finds her balance better than against Norway and demonstrates how quickly she learns.

Beney played her 13th international match against Iceland. But she would have played a few more if she hadn't torn her cruciate ligament two years ago, at just 16 and just before the World Cup. A difficult time followed for Beney, but she survived it – just as she has overcome many things before.

She grew up in Savièse, high above the Rhône Valley, in a house surrounded by vineyards, overlooking Tourbillon Castle. Beney comes from a football family. Her father, Nicolas, played around 100 Super League games and won the Swiss Cup twice. Her aunt, Noémie, was capped 45 times by her national team. And her brother, Romeo, is on the squad of FC Basel and the U-21 national team.

In a recent interview with the NZZ newspaper, Beney's parents described her as an introverted person who enjoys spending time at home whenever she makes it to Valais. At just twelve years old, Beney moved from there to Biel, to the training center of the Swiss Football Association (SFV). From an early age, she devoted much of her time to football. Recently, her career has developed rapidly. Before the European Championships, she won the Swiss championship with YB, scoring the decisive penalty. She then completed her final exams for the commercial training program. And now she's part of the Swiss team at the European Championships.

After the home tournament, Beney will head to Manchester City, the world-class English club whose infrastructure Beney's parents describe in just one word: "incroyable." She has signed a four-year contract there. Beney was recently asked how important money was to her in connection with her move to England. "The main thing is that I don't have to go to school anymore," she replied. (dow.)

When they talk about the greatest talent they've ever seen in Barcelona, ​​it means something. Despite their defeat in the Champions League final against Arsenal, Barça is the pinnacle of women's football. The best players in the world congregate there. Among them is Sydney Schertenleib, who should be terrified by all the advance praise. Even comparisons to Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal are circulating in Catalonia.

The Zurich native played for FC Zurich and most recently for Grasshopper Club when she received a message on Instagram a little over a year ago: Barcelona were interested in her. Schertenleib, then 17 years old, initially thought it was fake. A few weeks later, she moved to La Masia, FC Barcelona's youth academy. She was a regular fixture, and in March, she scored a wonder goal in the Champions League against Wolfsburg that went viral.

After coming on as a second-half substitute in Switzerland's opening match, Schertenleib started Sunday's game against Iceland. She didn't achieve everything, but she worked hard like her teammates. And in the 76th minute, she played the decisive pass that gave Géraldine Reuteler the decisive goal. Her vision and technique are outstanding; she can dribble and shoot, and can play in all positions in midfield.

Schertenleib has the rare gift of making football look easy and natural. But even this highly gifted player doesn't always shine. In an SRF documentary, she can be seen crying during training – it's a moment when everything becomes too much for her, a heartbreaking one. Sydney Schertenleib may have a great future ahead of her. But she's also a completely normal teenager. (cen.)

It's almost midnight on Sunday when Leila Wandeler stands in front of a bunch of microphones in the heart of Bern's Wankdorf stadium, laughing. Speaking in German with a French accent, the 19-year-old has just said that the team will "celebrate a little bit" after the 2-0 win. How, she was asked, to which she laughed. "I won't tell you. Maybe we'll dance a little in the locker room." Before the European Championship, she and Alayah Pilgrim had rehearsed a goal-scoring dance, which they promptly performed on the pitch after Pilgrim's 2-0 win.

Wandeler's football is as refreshing as her speech: cheeky, courageous, and full of enthusiasm. She has just played two international matches for the senior team: the friendly in Winterthur two weeks ago and now the match against Iceland. But she has never shied away from challenges: As a four-year-old, she played with the older boys at FC Matran in the canton of Fribourg. From the ages of six to ten, she lived with her family in Senegal, her mother's homeland.

According to the Freiburger Nachrichten, Wandeler was the only girl among 100 boys at the football training center in the capital, Dakar. She was unwelcome and teased by the others. Wandeler stayed. And learned to assert herself against physically stronger opponents, even as a lightweight and now only 1.62 meters tall.

Back in Switzerland, she trained at the Biel Performance Center, again with the boys up to the U16 level. Then she skipped the next logical step: the Swiss Women's Super League. At 17, she was invited to a trial with Olympique Lyon, where she signed a training contract – and she's still there, with the record Champions League winners, trying to push for her first professional contract.

The European Championship selection came as something of a surprise after a few injuries. But national coach Pia Sundhage was very impressed by Wandeler's versatility, her youthful spirit, and her determination. It's the first step that should lead her to a bright future: Wandeler wants to become World Player of the Year one day. That's bold. Just like on the pitch. (eva.)