Soccer-Switzerland fans: 'We leave Euro with our heads high'
By Cecile Mantovani and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber
GENEVA, July 6 (Reuters) -The hundreds of Swiss fans who braved a downpour in Geneva to watch their team on giant screens were crestfallen after the loss to England but took comfort in Switzerland's strong showing at the tournament.
Switzerland, who were hoping to reach their first major tournament semi-final, took the lead in the 75th minute when Breel Embolo poked a low cross into the goal.
An equalizer by Bukayo Saka five minutes later soured the mood at the fan zone on Plainpalais square in Geneva, but Swiss supporters stayed put to watch the game through extra time and penalties despite heavy rainfall.
"They kept us hanging until the end, it was incredible," said fan Abigaelle Perrin, a drenched Swiss flag draped around her shoulders, after England's 5-3 win in the penalty shootout.
She said fans were unfazed by the rain.
"That's how memories are made," she added. "That's what's beautiful about it."
The Swiss have featured at all but one major finals since 2004 and reached the Euro 2020 quarter-finals by beating world champions France.
After a bumpy qualifying campaign for Euro 2024, they reached the knockout stages of their sixth successive major tournament and dominated Italy in the round of 16 before their encounter with England.
"It's ridiculous that we didn't win," said Geneva resident Alejandro, completely soaked.
"England played horribly and have played horribly throughout the tournament. Switzerland should have won."
Another fan, 18-year-old Safwan Abdirahman, said the tournament had helped the diverse Swiss population unite around a common goal.
"I'm so proud of Switzerland. Whether French-speaking, from (Italian-speaking) Ticino or German-speaking, we were all united by the sport of football," he said.
Although they were pleased with their team's performance, several fans questioned manager Murat Yakin's decision not to send on veteran Xherdan Shaqiri until the second half of extra time.
Shaqiri, who came on in the 109th minute for Embolo, nearly gave Switzerland the lead in the 117th minute when he narrowly missed scoring direct from a corner kick with a clever curling delivery.
"They put on Shaqiri too late. He's a player who can destabilise the opposition in the box," said Philippe Steiner, wearing a Swiss jersey and a red cowboy hat.
"We could have done better, but we leave with our heads high."
Reporting by Cécile Mantovani and Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Hugh Lawson
Aloqador aktivlar
Eng oxirgi yangiliklar
Javobgarlikdan voz kechish: XM Group korxonalari har biri faqat ijro xizmatlarini koʻrsatadi va onlayn savdo platformamizdan foydalanish huquqini beradi, bu odamga veb-saytda yoki veb-sayt orqali mavjud boʻlgan kontentni koʻrish va/yoki undan foydalanishga ruxsat beradi hamda uni oʻzgartirishga moʻljallanmagan va uni oʻzgartirmaydi yoki kengaytirmaydi. Bunday kirish va foydalanish huquqi doimo quyidagilarga boʻysunadi: (i) Shartlar va qoidalar; (ii) Risklar haqida ogohlantirish; va (iii) Javobgarlikni toʻliq rad etish. Shuning uchun bunday kontent umumiy maʼlumot sifatida taqdim etiladi. Xususan, shuni esda tutingki, bizning onlayn savdo platformamiz mazmuni moliyaviy bozorlarda biror bitimni amalga oshirishga oid maslahat yoki taklif emas. Har qanday moliyaviy bozorda savdo qilish sizning kapitalingiz uchun jiddiy risk darajasini oʻz ichiga oladi.
Onlayn savdo platformamizda chop etilgan barcha materiallar faqat taʼlim/axborot maqsadlari uchun moʻljallangan va unda moliyaviy, investitsiya soligʻi yoki savdo maslahatlari va tavsiyalar; yoki bizning savdo narxlarimizning qaydlari; yoki har qanday moliyaviy vositalar bilan bitim tuzish maslahati yoki taklifi; yoki sizga kerak boʻlmagan moliyaviy reklama aksiyalari hisoblanmaydi
Har qanday uchinchi tomon kontenti, shuningdek XM tomonidan tayyorlangan kontent, masalan: fikrlar, yangiliklar, tadqiqotlar, tahlillar, narxlar va boshqa maʼlumotlar yoki bu veb-saytda joylashgan uchinchi tomon saytlariga havolalar umumiy bozor sharhi sifatida "boricha" taqdim etiladi va investitsiya maslahatini tashkil etmaydi. Har qanday kontent investitsiya tadqiqoti sifatida talqin qilinsa, siz bunday kontentni investitsiya tadqiqotlarining mustaqilligini ragʻbatlantirish uchun moʻljallangan qonun talablariga muvofiq moʻljallanmagan va tayyorlanmaganligini eʼtiborga olishingiz va qabul qilishingiz kerak, shuning uchun unga tegishli qonunlar va qoidalarga muvofiq marketing kommunikatsiyasi sifatida qaraladi. Mustaqil boʻlmagan investitsiya tadqiqoti va yuqoridagi maʼlumotlarga oid risk haqida ogohlantirishimizni oʻqib chiqqaningizga va tushunganingizga ishonch hosil qiling, unga bu yerdan kirish mumkin.
