Switzerland started the European Championship in their own country with a defeat on Wednesday. Due to defensive blunders, the Swiss lost 1-2 to Norway in a packed stadium in Basel.
Switzerland had just taken the lead after a short half hour in St. Jakob-Park. Nadine Riesen shot in via the inside of the post, to the great joy of the 34,000 spectators present. Shortly before that, Géraldine Reuteler had hit the crossbar for Switzerland.
Yet things still went wrong for Switzerland after the break, mainly due to their own doing. Keeper Livia Peng completely misjudged a corner, allowing Ada Hegerberg to head in from close range. To make matters worse, Julia Stierli slid the ball into her own goal a few minutes later.
Then hectic minutes broke out in Basel. Hegerberg missed a penalty in the seventieth minute (wide) and then Switzerland also thought they could take a penalty. The referee had already pointed to the spot, but VAR Dennis Higler had seen offside in the run-up and so the party did not go ahead.
It is the first time since 2013 that the European Championship host country has not won the first match. Nevertheless, Switzerland hopes to reach the quarter-finals of a European Championship for the first time. The Swiss participated in the European Championships in 2017 and 2022, but went home after the group stage.
With the victory, Norway took a big step towards the quarter-finals. The two-time European champion can already win a ticket for the last eight in the second group match on Sunday. Then Finland, which won 1-0 against Iceland earlier in the day, is the opponent.