[ad_1]
Disappointed faces everywhere after the 4-0 applause of the women’s team against Belgium. It’s understandable: Swiss women will likely miss direct qualification for a final after a good starting position for the second time in a row.
I’m wrong in 2018 Swiss women direct qualification for the World Cup. Back then against Scotland and Poland. This year Belgium stands in the way.
That was different. Before participating in the 2015 World Cup and the 2017 European Championship, Switzerland eliminated Iceland, Denmark, Italy and Belgium. Countries that this time will probably qualify for the ME before Switzerland.
Still in 2016 defeat Norway in a mini-tournament and compete with Sweden and the Netherlands. Just a few years later, these nations seem out of reach. The Netherlands is now even European champion and world runner-up.
On paper Swiss women have a strong force. In the starting eleven against Belgium there are all the foreign professionals. However, the gap with the world elite is widening, because international women’s football has developed enormously in the last five years. In Switzerland, this leap forward has yet to be felt. This is now evident in the last two ratings.
The train is still there nothing remains. It’s about qualifying England in 2022 through the playoffs at any cost, if necessary. Due to the corona pandemic, the tournament was postponed for a year. That would give Switzerland one more year. It is one more year to continue developing and to reveal the undoubted potential in the field.
