The Swiss women’s national team has to deal with defending champions Norway, Hungary and Croatia next November.
In their first-ever appearance in a finals, the Swiss women’s national team will face holders Norway, Hungary and Croatia next November. Switzerland will play their games in Ljubljana. Switzerland caught an expected difficult group in the draw in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana.
With the Norwegians you meet the defending champions, Croatia won the bronze medal at the last European Championships and Hungary is also one of the extended world leaders. As the Swiss have been drawn into Group A, they will play all three preliminary round matches in Ljubljana. The schedule is already in place.
As a first-time participant in a European Championship finals, the young Swiss national team will appear as clear outsiders in all three games. This is also shown by looking at the opponent statistics. So far, Switzerland has not won a game against Norway, Hungary or Croatia.
National coach Martin Albertsen says immediately after the draw: “It will be a Goliath task. But I have a plan with my team. Tactically we are already at a good level, now we have to improve physically and technically in order to be able to create a surprise in the future.”
respect for opponents
Albertsen has the highest respect from the Norwegians. “They will play for the title together with Denmark and France.” Nevertheless, he wants to play for the best possible result in all three games. “After all, we have a very young squad, nothing to lose and we can play freely.” Albertsen adds that the Hungarians will probably have a home game in Ljubljana.
The Hungarian border is only a few kilometers away from Ljubljana. “But of course I’m also looking forward to many Swiss fans.” Ingo Meckes, head of competitive sports at the SHV, is also hoping for a large Swiss fan community in Ljubljana. «We got the best lot in terms of location. We play three times in the beautiful Slovenian capital. This can be easily combined with a handball trip for the fans.”
“In terms of sport, we probably caught THE top team with Norway. They hardly let up over 60 minutes, that will be a big challenge for us, »continued Meckes. The Hungary game will be exciting. “They have become the non-plus-ultra in Europe at youth level and, like us, have a very young team.”
Croatia, on the other hand, play at a similar level to Hungary and, like the other two teams, have more experience than Switzerland. “But this is a final round, there are only tough opponents.”
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