Group C: Portugal’s comeback steals victory from Switzerland

Portugal’s women’s national team was literally crushed by Switzerland in their opening game of Group C. In the end there were no winners on Saturday at 2:2 (0:2).

Both teams knew one thing before kick-off: this was going to be a key game for them, as only the winners would stand a chance of upsetting and potentially progressing to the knockout rounds. Because the other two group opponents, the Netherlands and Sweden, are usually much stronger.

So only a win would count. The Portuguese, who only got access to the final round of the European Championship because Russia, which was actually qualified, were excluded, wanted to take a playful approach – technique and elegance are more their thing than physical action.

0: 2 after five minutes

But before they even got to the grass of Leigh Sports Village Stadium, they were behind. And quite hearty. Barely two minutes had been played when Portugal’s goalkeeper Ines Pereira let Coumba Sow’s long-range shot from almost 20 meters through to make it 0-1.

Only three minutes later the bell rang again for the southern Europeans: Ramona Bachmann, the “grand dame” of Swiss women’s football, brought in a free-kick from the left half-field. Rahel Kiwic was spot on at the second post to nod off to make it 2-0. Keeper Pereira was actually in the threatened corner, but was again unable to parry.

Switzerland wins the duels

The Swiss, clearly defeated by Germany (0:7) and England (0:4) in the run-up to the European Championship tournament, seemed to have everything under control with their physical game. The Portuguese could not assert themselves at all and lost almost all important duels.

It’s just a pity that the Swiss also largely stopped their offensive efforts after the two early goals and only managed their lead for the time being. The game was characterized by numerous bad passes and misunderstandings. There was little that was refreshing for viewers in Leigh, a suburb of Manchester.

Portugal pushes and equalizes

The Swiss women’s lethargy continued in the second half and even got worse. And the look of their coach Nils Nielsen on the sidelines became increasingly desperate. His team just let the game get out of hand.

With consequences: the Portuguese remained harmless for a long time, but that changed after just under an hour. In the 58th minute, Diana Gomes poked the ball over the line after a corner kick to make it 2-1. And Jessica Silva made it 2-2 just seven minutes later when she hit the far corner from 15 meters.

Portugal is pushing for victory

Portugal stayed tuned – coach Francisco Neto’s team now wanted the threesome. The Portuguese women won 9:0 corners until ten minutes before the end – that also reflected the completely different events on the pitch.

But the actions now remained too piecemeal. And ten minutes before the end, the Swiss almost scored to win – Geraldine Reuteler only hit the crossbar after a corner from an ambush. The Portuguese then had the last word again: Encarnação shot from distance and hit the left post. That’s it. And the two had the result that no one really wanted before the game.