Switzerland have been beaten 1-0 by Sweden in a low-quality World Cup encounter in St Petersburg. Disappointed fans and journalists admit that the Swiss simply weren’t good enough.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Born in London, Thomas was a journalist at The Independent before moving to Bern in 2005. He speaks all three official Swiss languages and enjoys travelling the country and practising them, above all in pubs, restaurants and gelaterias.
While most of the jokes in the run-up to the game were about Americans being unable to tell the difference between the two sides, the consensus on social media was that it was one of the worst matches of the tournament. Not that that will bother the winners.
But for Swiss fans the disappointment will be all the greater knowing that they will rarely get as good a chance to advance further in a World Cup than they have for 64 years.
External Content
This one hurts. I can't wrap my head around that performance. A very good chance to reach the Quarter Final for the first time since 1954 and they let them pass them by.
The Swiss certainly weren’t playing like a team ranked sixth the world and with only one loss in their previous 25 games. In the 66th minute, Emil Forsberg was allowed time to tee up his shot on the edge of the penalty area and, although Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer appeared to have it covered, Swiss defender Manuel Akanji stuck out a foot and deflected it into the corner of the net.
“We’re massively disappointed. That’s a really bitter pill,” Sommer said. “That was a huge chance today. Then you’re sitting in the locker room and the project for which you’ve given so much is simply gone.”
“A team is exposed,” was the verdict of tabloid BlickExternal link, whose front-page headline this morning was “And now blow out the Northern Lights”.
“It’s OK to lose a last-16 match in the World Cup – but not like that,” the paper said. The Swiss had “more talent, more potential and more class – but absolutely none of that was on show. A despondent performance ultimately seriously lacking ideas and inspiration which wasn’t enough for the weakest last-16 match so far. It’s a relapse into a time we thought we had left behind”.
Swiss manager Vladimir Petkovic said his team were too slow and lacked emotion. “Sweden did precisely what they were good at and that was enough to beat us. We should have done things better, but we were not good enough to win this match. We didn’t find any fluidity and we got stuck in the middle,” he said. “Our emotions were playing tricks on us.”
This was another opportunity spurned by the Swiss, who have reached the last 16 in four of the past five World Cups only to be eliminated without scoring a goal.
More
More
Will Switzerland win the football World Cup?
This content was published on
Highly unlikely, agree all analysts. swissinfo.ch assesses the probabilities provided by bookmakers, bankers and academics.
This content was published on
Nemo brought the Eurovision Song Contest to Switzerland with his victory on Saturday evening in Malmö, Sweden. It is Switzerland's third victory in the history of the music contest.
Switzerland abstains from vote on Palestinian bid for full UN membership
This content was published on
On Friday, Switzerland abstained from the vote at the General Assembly on granting the Palestinians new rights at the United Nations (UN).
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss football scandals through the years
This content was published on
The current "double eagle" controversy is not the first time the Swiss have had their wrists slapped by the football authorities.
Swiss footballers fined by FIFA for Albanian double-eagle gesture
This content was published on
Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichtsteiner will not be banned for their Albanian “double eagle” hand gesture.
Former FIFA boss Blatter revels in visit to Kremlin
This content was published on
Sepp Blatter, the suspended former president of world football’s governing body FIFA, has met Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.