Swiss beat Iceland 2-0 to keep alive Women’s Euro knockout hopes
Agency:
Geraldine Reuteler got the opening goal and Alayah Pilgrim scored a late second as hosts Switzerland beat Iceland 2-0 on Sunday to keep alive their hopes of a place in the knockout stage by registering their first win in Group-A at the Women’s Euros.
The result means Norway, who beat Finland 2-1 earlier on Sunday, will go through as group winners, while the Swiss will play Finland in their final group game in Geneva on Wednesday with second place and a spot in the last eight up for grabs.
Iceland became the first team to be eliminated from the competition.
“We wanted to win that game and we got carried by our fans. In the end we created the chances needed to win… I am so happy,” Swiss captain Lia Walti said.
The tropical heat of the last week gave way to a cool evening and a light but persistent rain that made the pitch slick and slippery, raising the stakes for the two sides, neither of whom had much margin for error after losing their opening group games.
There were ominous signs for the hosts in the first minute when Ingibjorg Sigurdarsdottir sent a thunderous shot off the crossbar, shocking the majority of the 29,658 fans in attendance.
The Swiss had the ball in the net on the half-hour mark after Svenja Foelmli’s header was helped into her own goal by Glodis Viggosdottir, but the strike was ruled out after a VAR review found that Foelmli had committed a foul in the build-up.
It took until the 76th minute for Reuteler to break the deadlock in a tough, tense encounter as Iceland lost the ball in midfield and Sydney Schertenlieb slid it into her path to fire home confidently, capping off another superb individual display.
Substitute Pilgrim then wrapped up the three points with a deflected shot that flew into the net to send the crowd into a frenzy, with the promise of another big night of football for the hosts on the immediate horizon.
“When we scored the first goal, the 1-0, it was a fantastic feeling – now there are 30,000 in the stands who are celebrating for us. It’s a good feeling, it was overwhelming in a way. It just exploded in here,” Swiss midfielder Smilla Valotto told reporters.
“That was up and down and back and forth. It was a fight and, at the end of the day, I think we did well,” Swiss coach Pia Sundhage said with a mixture of elation and relief.
“It’s difficult to play against Iceland because of all the duels, they’re good in the air. But we met that and we managed to do so with a clean sheet and score two goals, we are very happy about that.”
Sundhage said she would have no problem getting her squad to focus on the next task against Finland.
“I feel that the team is getting tighter and tighter. And that’s very important in order to win anything, believing each other, and believe that you can win,” she told reporters.