Heroic Swiss defeated, but unbowed

The tears flowed as Switzerland bowed out of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship having won a lot of friends with the way they had competed at their own tournament. Tackling a hugely talented French team with a full complement of players was hard enough - playing them with ten men for 50 minutes made it an impossible task.

Red mist
There was no question that Stephan Keller, the big bear at the heart of the Swiss defence, had to go following the second of two late tackles in the space of sixty seconds before half-time. There was no arguing either that France were a team whose technical superiority stood out.

Great expectations
Yet it was easy to sympathise with the host nation who began to believe after edging out Portugal and England from Group 1 that they could, against all expectations, go the full distance in a competition that has never before seen a Swiss team venture past the initial qualifying stages.

Czech's await
They gave France their toughest test of the tournament so far and it was past the hour before Raymond Domenech's team, who can boast attacking talents of the quality of Sydney Govou, Peguy Luyindula and Steed Malbranque, dovetailed sufficiently to find the net and earn a place in Tuesday's final where they will face the Czech Republic.

'The most courageous opponents'
"These were the most courageous opponents we have faced so far," admitted the French coach. "They were tenacious and gave us the kind of match I was expecting. One of the qualities of the Swiss team is their fighting spirit, their solidarity and their teamwork.

'Played to our strengths'
"We have other qualities and although we lost our way a little bit at the end of the first half, we got it back and played to our strengths."

Bright futures
Malbranque's opening goal was superbly taken considering the ball came to him at an awkward height and he had to do a lot of work just to get himself in a shooting position. It resulted from a short pass from Luyindula and the Olympique Lyonnais championnat winner continued to take the opportunity to shine more than Govou, his coveted club-mate and fellow striker.

Close shaves
Luyindula hit the post early in the second half, did so again in injury time - on each occasion Nicolas Beney stretched to turn the ball against the upright - and was also centimetres wide with a clever flick.

In two minds
Switzerland enjoyed a strong spell in the latter half of the first period, with Ricardo Cabanas wasting a good opportunity when he was could not decide whether to pass or shoot. From a free-kick, Remo Meyer was unlucky to find Mickaël Landreau alert to his hooked effort.

Good finish
Then came Keller's moments of madness and for the Swiss it became less of a hill to climb, and more of an Alp. Yet they still managed to finish the half on a high and Alexander Frei forced Landreau to touch over a dipping drive.

'Remain calm'
"At half-time the coach told us that the Swiss would try and get it back to ten against ten, so he said we had to remain calm and keep playing the game," central defender Alain Boumsong said.

Three booked
The fact that France had three players cautioned, one more than in their three previous games put together, was an indication of the feisty nature of the contest. However, French quality won out and their second goal was also deserving of merit, Olivier Sorlin's meaty drive finding its way past Beney with the aid of a deflection.

'Take nothing away from the quality of the French'
The Swiss coach Bernard Challandes, who believed that his team had the worst of the refereeing decisions, posed the question on everyone's lips: "Would we still have been in the game if it had been eleven against eleven?" he said. "It's a possibility, though we should take nothing away from the quality of the French team and also from the first goal which was fantastic.

'Our players were heroes'
"Our players were heroes and that's not too big a word. They gave everything and some were crying in the dressing room. They believed in themselves but it was not to be."