Swiss stumble but Sundhage rallies Euro 2025 hosts

"This is once in a lifetime, it will never come back."

Switzerland head coach Pia Sundhage had been unequivocal in her pre-match news conference as she urged her players to "embrace the pressure" of their opening game as Euro 2025 hosts.

Yet when it came to it, the Swiss did not get the win they so badly craved in Basel as their first major women's tournament on home soil began with a 2-1 defeat by Norway.

The highly experienced Sundhage knows all about leading a host nation on a big stage, having taken charge of Sweden on home soil at Euro 2013, something she described as "one of my best years".

This time her Switzerland team threw away a 1-0 lead and fell to defeat in cruel fashion, with defender Julia Stierli's unfortunate own goal settling the match.

Ada Hegerberg had cancelled out Nadine Riesen's opener barely four minutes before Stierli steered a low cross into her own net.

It made the Swiss the first Women's Euros hosts to lose their opening match, but hope still remains that they will reach the knockout stage.

This tournament was not kickstarted with pre-match pyrotechnics or anything flashy. Instead the opening ceremony in Basel was playful and entertaining as performers danced with silver tubes before a giant Women's Euros trophy was formed in the centre circle, surrounded by flags of all the 16 countries competing in Switzerland.

Sundhage's players seemed to take the burden of expectation in their stride early on, playing on the front foot. They dominated two-time European champions Norway in the first half at a sold-out St Jakob-Park, but they could not see the job through.

Assessing whether her players embraced the pressure, Sundhage said: "Oh yeah. I have never seen that kind of locker room previously and at the hotel before we left.

"Step by step, the best part is it's different players that use their voice. We were prepared. I talked to them after the game and it's so important to use your language and your body language and words as well after defeat because we still have a chance to play the quarter-final."

That is the message now - Sundhage wants her side to make the most of their remaining Group A games against Iceland and Finland.

"We start with Iceland and if we play a good game then we put ourselves in a good spot," she said.

"Be responsible for what you say, what you do and how you behave, because that is the best thing for the Swiss national team and the Swiss people."

The Swiss people played their part on day one of the tournament, and the overwhelming feeling around Basel on the opening day of Euro 2025 was pride.

Thousand of fans turned out to march to the stadium together, walking 45 minutes from the city centre in sweltering heat.

Temperatures may have been high, but so was the Swiss spirit.

There were men and women, boys and girls, almost all wearing red shirts and embracing the excitement of hosting the prestigious tournament.

Supporters sang, chanted and rang cow bells all the way. Locals hung out of their balconies to join in the celebrations and there was a real feel-good factor.

Sundhage's appointment in 2024 brought huge excitement, with the former Sweden and Brazil boss one of the most respected and experienced figures in the women's game.

She went into Wednesday's games with a modest seven wins in 18 games as Switzerland boss, but there was still plenty of goodwill towards her and the team from fans.

Some fans spoke of how hosting Euro 2025 felt like a "new era" for women’s football in Switzerland, while others said the nation just wanted to get behind their team to push them over the line, rather then criticise tactics and performances.

The party atmosphere continued into the ground, with Swiss fans loving every minute of their moment on the big stage.

Even though the result was not what they wanted, the fans never wavered and stuck by their team.

An official attendance of 34,063 was announced on Wednesday - a big step for women's football in Switzerland.

They were selected to host Euro 2025 in a bidding process which saw them beat Poland, France and a joint bid from Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway.

Uefa's head of women's football Nadine Kessler said Switzerland were the underdogs in the bidding process and challenged them to "make something out of it".

Switzerland want to replicate England's success as hosts three years ago and hope Euro 2025 can be a springboard to help grow their domestic women's game.

The Swiss Women's Super League is not yet professional. Attendances have risen in the build-up to Euro 2025 and Young Boys set an attendance record of 10,647 in March, but last season's average attendance across the league was just 569.

With issues surrounding infrastructure, accessibility and pay, there is the sense that Euro 2025 could be the turning point that Swiss women's football needs.

"Right now, women's football isn't in a great place in Switzerland," journalist Helene Altgelt told the BBC.

"The league is severely underfunded, most teams aren't professional, many teams aren't playing in a real stadium so there is no actual stands. This is unacceptable for women's football in 2025.

"The federation has realised this and now the Euros can be a great moment to kickstart that change and ensure women's football is going to be professional and more girls can live their dream of actually living by playing football and not having three side hustles or studying."

The Swiss Football Association has implemented an ambitious legacy programme that hopes to double the number of girls and women playing football in Switzerland from 40,000 to 80,000. It also hopes to double the number of coaches and increase attendances in the league by 2027.

As Sundhage said, this moment will never come back, but the signs are positive that women's football can grow significantly in Switzerland.

A win or ideally two from their team over the next week, however, would go a long way to making sure of that.