July 21 – Pia Sundhage remains undecided about her future with Switzerland after leading the Nati to the last eight of Euro 2025.
On Saturday, Sundhage (pictured), whose contract runs until the end of the year, had been expected to reveal her future plans at a news conference but instead Marion Daube, the director of women’s football at the Swiss FA, said that it was time to let the tournament and Switzerland’s run sink in before thinking about the future.
“Everything is open in all directions,” said Daube. “So quickly after the tournament, we don’t want go in one direction. We truly want to take the time and see what the future will look like.”
The veteran manager led the country to the knockout phase of the European Championship for the first time before world champions Spain ended the host nation’s tournament with a 2-0 defeat in the quarter-finals. Immediately after the elimination, Sundhage had said she was not looking beyond the end of her contract.
Last year, in January, Switzerland hired the storied manager. The Swedish coach had previously managed the United States, Brazil as well as her native country. The hosts struggled in the group stages and needed a dramatic late equaliser against Finland to squeeze through to the last eight, where they held their own against Spain for more than an hour.
It was enough to capture the imagination of the Swiss general public. “At the start I felt that to change a Swiss person is very difficult but we did that with the football team,” said Sundhage.
Daube added: “I hope – and we work hard for it – that we can keep this momentum. The national team play again in the autumn, but we appeal to everyone out there that there is football in the meantime in the Women’s Super League. Go and watch the matches, support the women.”
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