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Kneeling first, then mature performance: Switzerland reclaims the throne
Thanks to goals from Malin Gut and Alisha Lehmann, the Swiss footballers beat Belgium, the group’s favorite, in qualifying for the European Championship. You open the door to the final of the 2022 European Championship. Before kick-off, the players spoke out against racism.
They are cries of relief. The cheers are out. He finally got over the excruciating moments of shaking. Switzerland beat Belgium 2-1 in this very important match. Last Friday’s slip, this 1-1 in Croatia, has been corrected.
Switzerland takes the top of the table in Group H of the European Championship standings. Two games remain, the first in Romania at the end of October. And then there will be a second leg in Belgium on December 1. One thing is clear: four points are definitely enough to qualify directly for EM 2022. Maybe even three.
Alisha Lehmann suffers in the last minutes in the stands. Moments after her wonderful goal to make it 2-0, she was replaced. Now she says, “I’ve rarely been as nervous as I am in those moments, but it was worth it. Nils Nielsen’s team doesn’t care that success is permanent. “The three points are a great relief, they take a lot of pressure off us,” says captain Lia Wälti.
Good start and then suddenly the crash
Almost 70 minutes have been played when the hectic final phase of this game begins. Swiss women have everything under control. They are showing a good performance, dominating Belgium. But then the shock. A bad pass from Wälti, shot, goal, and only 2: 1. Belgium is suddenly on the rise. Switzerland needs time to digest the reverse. For five minutes everything seems confused, the sovereignty is gone. Simple passes are no longer successful, self-confidence is washed away by the rain of Thun.
Viola Calligaris, who left Croatia last Friday with a broken hand, trembles in the stands and can barely stand in her chair. As the Swiss forces diminish more and more, the Belgians suddenly begin to believe in their opportunity. And in the screams of the guest coach, who before only seemed desperate, suddenly the belief in a late hit is found.
But Swiss women somehow make it home. The victory is undoubtedly deserved. And you don’t have to worry in the least that the Belgians didn’t have their best day. “We were focused, focused and brave, I liked that,” says national coach Nielsen.
Kneeling against racism before the start of the game
The match started with a strong signal from both teams. Shortly before kick-off, the players and referees knelt on Thun’s grass. It was a joint statement against racism and discrimination. The Swiss Football Association writes: “The message behind this campaign is: We want to show that no one should be treated differently because of their skin color, gender, race, sexuality or anything else. Hate and discrimination have no place in our world. “
The knee drop can’t exactly compare to Alain Sutter’s famous “Stop it Chirac” banner in 1995 at Switzerland’s international match against Sweden in Gothenburg. It will also cause a lot less fuss, because such statements made their way to sport in 2020 thanks to the “Black Lives Matter” movement. It is a good development and shows that athletes are ready to stand up for their values.
Image: keystone
It didn’t take long for the sport to dominate again. Malin Gut, the 20-year-old from Aargau, ensured with her first international goal five minutes into the game that the match was headed in the right direction. Her shot was almost as beautiful to look at as Lehmann’s back.
And because the Swiss women somehow successfully survived the late tremors, they can look forward to the last two games of qualifying for the European Championship with a lot of good feelings. (bzbasel.ch)