Geneva may never have known a din like it. Any pretensions of lakeside refinement were blasted into the sky when Riola Xhemaili, brought on as a late throw of the dice, showed the instinct Switzerland had been missing all night. They had only needed a point to continue local interest at Euro 2025 but found themselves trailing to a gutsy Finland as the match entered its second minute of added time.
Then the tireless Geraldine Reuteler skewed a cross-shot into the six-yard box; Xhemaili was placed to capitalise and host nation politesse was the last thing on anybody’s minds from thereon.
The stands pulsated and perhaps this was the moment a country that has taken a friendly, generous interest in its home tournament catapults itself into a full-on embrace. Maybe a hugely likable, manifestly flawed Swiss team has finally made its point and the anticipation will surely ramp up to fever pitch in the eight days until their first ever quarter-final. Never mind that their opponents will almost certainly be Spain: an evening of such magnitude deserves bathing in a while longer.
It even made an impression on Pia Sundhage, who may have thought she had seen it all during her 50 years in football but has never enjoyed a more satisfying draw than this. “It was the most exciting,” she said. “These kinds of moment make you think ‘I can go on for ever and ever’. It’s inspiring to be around these players and staff members.”
