Switzerland 1 – Norway 2
July 2 – Host nation Switzerland stumbled as they kicked off Euro 2025 with a 2-1 defeat to Norway following a second-half collapse.
On a rambunctious and intense night at St. Jakob Park, Basel, the host nation will be left to lament what could have been after a perfect first half preceded a dramatic second-half collapse that spoiled Switzerland’s big kick-off and leaves their route to the last eight in doubt.
Nadine Risen’s 28th-minute strike reflected Switzerland’s first-half dominance, but a few barnstorming minutes from Norway, with Ada Hegerberg in a central role, silenced the Swiss.
It had all started so well. Throughout the day, Swiss fans had found corners of shade in Basel to escape the heat and savour the moment – that of another major tournament on home soil and, when the moment came, they transformed the St. Jakob Park into a sea of red and a cauldron of noise.
On the touchline, Pia Sundhage, Switzerland’s veteran manager, looked relaxed and her team got off to a fast start, pinning Norway back with their lively wingers. The hosts showed no signs of stage fright. They displayed a maturity that belied that this was only Switzerland’s third participation at a European championship. They defied their opponents, who counted on several global stars and, above all, they drew a positive energy from the magnitude of moment.
But that conviction did not immediately translate into finished product. Switzerland had their moments, in particular when Geraldine Reuteler got on the ball. The first moment of great danger arrived in the 24th minute when the striker released a great curling attempt that bounced back off the woodwork. But Switzerland didn’t have to wait long for a deserved lead.
Two minutes later, Riesen, the best player on the pitch, sashayed into the box, crossed, got the ball back and beat the Norwegian goalkeeper at her near post. Once again, she had been given too much space and this time she punished it, with her second national team goal.
Cue pandemonium in Basel and a moment of unheralded nation-building. Riesen carried on her celebrations with the substitutes’ bench in a show of great unity. Reuteler and Riesen had been immense and amid all the doubts and questions, Switzerland had delivered – or so it seemed.
Norway, frankly, were nowhere to be seen. They offered their opponents so much space that it defied logic. Up front, they were invisible. Had time stood still in Oslo? Two years ago, at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the Norwegians endured a torrid campaign that in part blew up in their group game against the Swiss.
Caroline Graham Hansen said she felt bypassed, publicly exposing the lack of harmony in the squad and attack. In Tuesday’s rematch, Hegerberg, Frida Maanum, Caro Reiten and Graham Hansen failed to gel again. It was a painful and inexplicable deja vu. They were lethargic and their body language suggested as much. At half-time, Norway had zero attempts on target.
But football is a strange sport. It helps when you have star power and experience. Hegerberg rubbished those first-half concerns when, out of nowhere, she drew level. Misjudging a corner, Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng flapped at the ball and Norway’s captain powered the ball home in the 54th minute, stunning the hosts. It was Hegerberg’s first goal at a major tournament since the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
What followed was a Swiss collapse and deflation. Four minutes later, defender Julia Stierli, with Hegerberg lurking behind her, deflected the ball into her own net from Graham Hansen’s cross. In the space of four minutes, Norway’s dramatic turnaround was complete and Hegerberg made her presence felt.
But in the great drama of this topsy-turvy match, she almost turned from hero to villain when she failed to convert a 70th-minute penalty following Reuteler’s handball in the box. At the other end, the host nation had a penalty chalked off following a VAR review. Switzerland pressed for an equaliser but the precision in the final third was missing. Even seven minutes of injury time didn’t bring a leveller.
It’s not how the hosts had imagined kicking off their own party, but manager Sundhage has promised that the hosts will bounce back.
“It’s such a small difference between being successful and not being successful,” she summarised.
“There are so many things happening behind the scenes, high performance coaches, medical staff, social things and so on, individual talks. And we felt prepared today. That’s why I’m a little bit … It could have been such a big difference if we had tied the game, which we had a chance to do.We’re going to work again and bring out the best performance in the team and give Iceland a tough game, I can promise you that.”
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