Despite a poor record: There are silver linings on the horizon for the women’s national team

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12 games, 1 win, 8:17 goals. That was the balance during Inka Grings’ time as national coach. It has long been a fact that Switzerland is currently – if at all – only a European mediocrity. A stay in League A of the Nations League, which is being held for the first time, would be a surprise.

After all, the German coach achieved the minimum goal at the World Cup by reaching the eighth finals. Moreover, the national team under predecessor Nils Nielsen had lost all contact with the top. Before the three victories last autumn against the lightweights Croatia, Moldova and Wales, which qualified them for the World Cup, the team had remained winless in eight matches (including the European Championship).

Grings does not allow himself to be stressed about the results. “Of course we want positive results, but you also have to leave the church in the village.” Sweden (number 1), Spain (2) and Italy (17) are all ahead of Nati (21) in the FIFA rankings. Grings’ long-term horizon is the home European Championship in 2025. “Our goal is to build and develop a team so that we can present a strong team domestically that can achieve euphoria with their passion, their willingness and their character bring about. »

The heart of the matter is scoring goals

Even though world champion Spain plays in a different competition than Switzerland, Grings also experiences positive things in the matches against the top teams in the world. “You don’t get these kinds of matches very often anymore. The players see that they have to invest.”

Although the national team suffered the biggest defeat under Grings with 0:5 in Cordoba, there was an improvement compared to the 1:5 World Cup round of 16, when the national team was completely overwhelmed. The national team kept up with the world champions for six months. Both goals before half time came after big mistakes by Elvira Herzog, who experienced a deja vu. The Leipzig keeper already conceded several goals in December 2020, in the 4-0 defeat in Belgium.

The largest construction site of the moment scores goals. In the last five matches, the national team has not scored a goal, with the exception of Spain’s own goal in the World Cup round of 16. Unlike the World Cup, when the national team only created a few chances to score, the team showed improved at least slightly in the two games – despite the absence of Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic and the absence of Ramona Bachmann in Spain.

Silver lines on the horizon

The young players in particular give hope for improvement, as they can become viable alternatives ahead of the home championship in just under two years. Nati debutant Alayah Pilgrim was the most dangerous player as a joker against both Italy and Spain. That speaks volumes for the twenty-year-old, but is no credit to the other attacking players.

Pilgrim brings what Switzerland especially misses: the train to the destination. The FCZ attacker symbolizes the many boys who are coming. Another winner of the group is the second debutante Smilla Vallotto (18), who plays for the Swedish Hammarby. She indicated that sooner or later she could displace one or two established players in midfield.

Ranked 16-year-old Noemi Ivelj also celebrated her national team debut in Spain, and FCZ’s Leela Egli was another 16-year-old in the squad. With Sydney Schertenleib (16), the SFV has another top talent in the pipeline and Svenja Fölmli (21) should finally return to the national team in October after recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. And there is Iman Beney (17), who is currently missing due to a torn cruciate ligament.

Source : Blick