Switzerland aim to finish on a high
Thursday, June 12, 2008
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Eliminated by Turkey, Switzerland are determined to end the tournament on a belated high by claiming their first victory at a UEFA European Championship finals.
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After their early elimination at the hands of Turkey on Wednesday, Switzerland are determined to end the tournament on a high by claiming their first win at a UEFA European Championship.
New goal
"Switzerland have never won a match at a EURO," said coach Köbi Kuhn. "This is now our big goal – to finally register that win. Why not against Portugal?" The Nati qualified for the tournaments in both 1996 (England) and 2004 (Portugal) and, including their two Group A games at UEFA EURO 2008™, have a record reading two draws, six defeats and no wins. "We wanted to make history, but we went out," said captain Ludovic Magnin. "Maybe this is a way for us to make just a little bit of history through the back door."
No comparison
Switzerland progressed from the 2006 FIFA World Cup group stage to the last 16 but Kuhn refuses to say the squad of two years ago are stronger than the current vintage. "It's difficult to compare the two teams," he said. "I think they are quite similar when it comes to overall strength, but it is well known that it's harder to survive the group stage of a EURO than in a World Cup, where with the luck of the draw you can get a weak African or Asian side. Which, of course, is easier than going up against the Czech Republic, Portugal or Turkey."
Positives
Despite the successive defeats, Kuhn believes his team are not far short of a side that could have made the quarter-finals. "It's hard to think that the tournament will be over for us on Sunday. We played against some of the best teams in the world and did not capitalise on our chances – I think we were not too far away." The outgoing coach nevertheless sees plenty of plus points to take from the campaign. "Despite going out, this tournament will produce another massive boom for football in Switzerland. The problem is just that we are lacking enough youth coaches for all the boys and girls who want to play. The enthusiasm for football has grown again." Meanwhile, Switzerland's injury problems worsened ahead of the Portugal match as Eren Derdiyok joined Alexander Frei and Marco Streller on the sidelines after spraining his ankle against Turkey.
