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Swiss ministers praise football team for World Cup journey

The Federal President and the Minister for Sport congratulate the national team
Swiss Sports Minister Martin Pfister was at the game against Argentina in Kansas City on Saturday evening. Keystone-SDA

Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Sports Minister Martin Pfister have congratulated the men’s national football team after it was knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage by Argentina.

“Thank you very much for the emotions, and a huge well done to everyone,” Parmelin wrote on the platform X.

For Parmelin, despite the disappointment, what will remain in his memory most of all is an extraordinary tournament and a close-knit team which captivated the whole of Switzerland, he wrote after the defeat early on Sunday morning (Swiss time).

Sports Minister Pfister had a similar message: even though being knocked out of the World Cup was painful, the team made Swiss football history by reaching the quarter-finals, he wrote on X. “For that, the team deserves great respect and our heartfelt thanks.”

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Pfister was in the stadium in Kansas City for the quarter-final match, which Murat Yakin’s team lost 1–3 to world champions Argentina in extra time.

Swiss parliamentarians also took to X to share their emotions after the match. Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger, a Lucerne-based Centre Party Senator, tweeted: “Our national team – what heroes! Thank you for this sensational World Cup!”

Another Centre Party parliamentarian, Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, wrote simply: “A bitter end. Well done.” Meanwhile Patrick Hässig, a Liberal Green parliamentarian from Zurich, expressed his thanks to the team for a “midsummer fairy tale”.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist. 

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