Skipper Stein signals Swiss intent

When Danique Stein's 30-metre free-kick flew past Desiree Schumann and nestled in the back of the Germany net there was a brief moment of stunned silence at the Torpedo Stadium, interrupted only by the cries of joy from the Swiss players as the reality sunk in: Switzerland were on their way to a famous victory over the five-time champions.

Stein thunderbolt
Germany had not lost a UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship game in normal play since 2005 and had never been beaten by such a heavy margin, Stein's 78th-minute thunderbolt wrapping up an extraordinary 3-0 triumph. Their coach Maren Meinert struggled to explain the shock defeat, but opposite number Yannick Schwery seemed less surprised. "That's the way we play," he said. "We have so much attacking potential, we always try to score as many goals as possible."

'Cherry on the cake'
For Stein – Switzerland's captain, defensive lynchpin and one of only four players to score more than once in this competition – there was another explanation. "Today is my birthday and it's also my mother's birthday," the 19-year-old centre-back told uefa.com after the game. "I dreamed we would win on my birthday, and scoring a goal like that is the cherry on the cake!" Having found the net in qualifying and in Switzerland's opening Group A win over Belarus, the youngster - who left FC Concordia Basel to join German club SC Freiburg this week - clearly has an eye for goal and her all-round importance cannot be overstated.

Unwavering belief
Schwery describes her as "a great leader with so much desire to win", and Stein's unwavering belief clearly played a vital part on Thursday. Of her strike, she said: "As soon as we won the free-kick I told my team-mates 'leave this one for me'. I just felt I would score and as soon as I hit the ball I knew it was in. I hit the shot with all my heart. I'm a defender but I know I can be useful when we go forward," the tall No5 continued. "I try to play good, long passes and score goals when I can, but so long as the team wins it doesn't matter who gets the goals."

Defensive role
Defending remains Stein's priority and, given Switzerland's commitment to attacking football, she often has her hands full. None of the eight finalists let in as many as the six goals Switzerland leaked in qualifying, so Stein was understandably delighted with the clean sheet against Germany. "We're really pleased not to concede against such a strong team," she said. "We had a lot of chances but they had some as well so we won't get carried away."

'Great spirit'
Yet the demolition of Germany has sent a strong message to the rest of the field. Nobody will underestimate this Switzerland side, who must merely avoid a defeat by six goals or more against France on Sunday to reach the semi-finals. The skipper is not fazed by the team's new status, saying: "We have great spirit, everybody has their feet on the ground and we just think about one game at a time. There aren't any stars in this team. If someone plays a bad pass nobody shouts at her. We stick together and we're all good friends." On the basis of their last performance, Switzerland and Stein will take some stopping.