Kick-off of the European Football Championship: The national team convinces – and loses

Were the hosts nervous in their first match? The Swiss women's soccer team didn't let it show, as they started so courageously and with such pressure against Norway. Less than five minutes had passed and they had already sent two dangerous crosses into the penalty area. Later, Géraldine Reuteler's shot from 20 meters hit the crossbar – and goalkeeper Livia Peng pulled off a save. It was loud every time, but in the 28th minute the noise level rose well over 100 decibels: Nadine Riesen had first crossed the ball, and after the Norwegians attempted to clear it, it landed at her feet and over the left inside post and into the net. The enthusiasm at halftime was correspondingly high, but ultimately, despite a strong performance, the hosts lost 2-1 to the favorites.

The Swiss women have never reached the knockout round of a European Championship, having been eliminated in the group stage in 2017 and 2022. And now, in those opening minutes, the promise of more sparked euphoria. The first match of the 14th European Championship since 1984 was already over, with Finland defeating Iceland 1-0 in Thun. But the tournament opened with the celebration on Wednesday evening at St. Jakob-Park in Basel.

For the first time, Switzerland is hosting a European Women's Football Championship. It's fitting, as the country still has a lot to do on the path to true equality.

And it was as compact as the format in the best sense of the word. 16 teams divided into four groups and eight venues – yes, a major football tournament can still be that compact – are taking part in the European Championship, and the ceremony lasted about ten minutes. "Reaching new heights together" was the motto. The idea behind it wasn't really apparent from the choreography with inflatable, silver elements. It was intended to be a reference both to the mountainous landscape of the host country and to what Switzerland hopes to achieve with this tournament: the rise of women's football. Specifically, for example, the number of licensed female players is to be doubled to 80,000.

UEFA was already satisfied with the current figures before the European Championship even started. Of the 673,000 tickets, more than 600,000 had been sold five days before the kickoff, surpassing the total of 575,000 tickets for Euro 2022 in England. "One of our main goals was to have a sold-out tournament. I remember how people laughed at us for that, but now it's becoming a reality," said Nadine Keßler, UEFA Director of Women's Football and former World Player of the Year. According to the former German international, 22 of the 31 matches are already sold out, "and that's without an opening match at Old Trafford or a final at Wembley Stadium."

As is often the case with tournaments, the success of the event also depends on the success of the hosts. And the omens were not so good there. Before the European Championships, the Swiss Federation had chosen the experienced Pia Sundhage as coach. The 65-year-old Swede won gold at the Olympics with the USA in 2008 and 2012, as well as silver with her home country in 2016. However, things were rocky for the Swiss women. In November, a 6-0 defeat by Germany had to be digested, but after eight international matches without a win, a 4-1 win against the Czech Republic at the end of June gave some confidence. The public, however, was dominated by the 7-1 defeat in a friendly against FC Luzern's U15s. The tabloid Blick reported that there was unrest "throughout the entire national team." Sundhage was said to have pushed for an overly tough preparation – without considering injuries. The woman criticized dismissed this as a rumor.

On the evening of the opening, none of that played a major role, even if the euphoria gave way to disillusionment at halftime. In the 54th minute, goalkeeper Peng misjudged a corner, and Ada Hegerberg sent the ball into the net with a powerful header to equalize at 1-1. Just four minutes later, the next setback came. Caroline Graham Hansen brought the ball dangerously close to the goal - but Swiss player Julia Stierli finally slid in while trying to get ahead of Hegerberg. Peng was able to parry Hegerberg's next shot, but then the six-time Champions League player from Norway missed her best chance: In the 70th minute, Hegerberg missed a handball penalty.

Perhaps also because the national team fans among the 34,063 spectators were even louder with their whistles at these moments than when the opening goal was scored. When a penalty was awarded to Switzerland almost immediately afterward, only to be overturned by the video assistant referee, there was initial confusion and ultimately protest from the crowd. The hosts had two great chances to equalize, but the defeat remained. And the positive impression that the hosts could play better than many had expected.