2023-06-28 20:40:38
– The Swiss dream is alive – but only thanks to Norway
Switzerland lost the last game against France 1:4. Because Norway defeats Italy at the same time, Switzerland meets Spain in the quarter-finals.
Published: 06/28/2023, 22:40
Dan Ndoye celebrates after scoring to make it 1-1.
Photo: Toto Marti (Freshfocus)
After just over an hour, Bradley Barcola scored to make it 2-1 for France. Fifteen minutes before the end, Rayan Cherki made it 3-1. And five minutes later, Maxence Caqueret made it 4-1. The result on its own looked bad for the Swiss. Only this defeat in Cluj didn’t interest any of them in the end.
In the other game in this group, Norway beat Italy 1-0 at the same time. And because direct encounters count in the group stage of this U-21 European Championship, Switzerland is the best of three teams with three points each in the quarter-finals.
This shows how close this qualification was: if Norway hadn’t won exactly 1-0, Switzerland would have gone home. The Swiss watched the final seconds of Italy’s game on their cell phones – and then something like restrained cheering broke out. Behavior also because perhaps there was still a little disbelief in the heads of the players about what had just happened.
Coach Patrick Framework had changed the starting line-up to three positions compared to the defeat against Italy: the youngest squad member Aurèle Amenda replaced Marco Burch in central defence, Nicolas Vouilloz played on the left-back instead of Becir Omeragic. In addition, Darian Males replaced Simon Sohm in the team, which set up frames in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Quarter final against Spain on Saturday
France played with the formation that defeated Italy in the first round. The only exception was Cherki: The man from Olympique Lyon organized the offensive game, sometimes enthusiastically, sometimes casually – and got a penalty after fifteen minutes against Fabien Rieder. The VAR is only used from the quarter-finals onwards. The decision that Rieder’s unintentional touch was enough for the whistle was there. Amine Gouiri defeated goalie Amir Saipi to make it 1-0.
It was one of the first offensive scenes for the French – and it revived the Swiss in particular. They missed several chances until the ball came to Lewin Blum in the 35th minute. The right-back played it in the middle, where Kastriot Imeri let through, then Zeki Amdouni put it down. Dan Ndoye, the fourth station of this fine attack, equalized the game.
Switzerland 1-4 France (1-1)
Cluj (ROM). – 1652 spectators. – Referee: Morten Krogh (DEN).
Tore: 16. Gouiri 0:1 (Penalty), 35. Ndoye 1:1, 65. Barcola 1:2, 76. Cherki 1:3, 81. Caqueret 1:4.
Switzerland: Saipi; Blum (86. Muller), Stergiou, Amenda, Vouilloz; Jashari, Rieder; Males (71. Sohm), Emery (77. Von Moos), Ndoye (86. Di Giusto); Amdouni (86. Krasniqi).
France meets Ukraine in the quarter-finals, while Switzerland plays Spain on Saturday. And she is still on her “Road to Paris” because qualifying for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024 is still possible. She would have to be third for that. Or fourth, should France be in the top three.
More on the U-21 third half – the Tamedia football podcast
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