If we win this home & away series, we qualify for the main tournament (and make the last eight). It's going to be very hard, as the Czech Republic won the last U21 Euro Cup (the one we hosted). 12,000 tickets have been sold so far for the 1st leg on Saturday in St. Jakob Park. HOPP SCHWIIZ!
I've just found out about the Olympic implications this game has. Should Switzerland finish third (or better) in the Euro Cup, then we qualify for Athens 2004... But it's still a long way there. Let's take care of the Czechs first.
I still think that Czech Republic is going to be a difficult game. If Switzerland can win by a goal or two in the first game, they should be able to hold on in the Czech Republic. Allez les Suisses!
Wow, did you guys know that it has been 75 years since we last competed in the Olympics (1928)? In 1924, our national team had the best showing ever and won the silver medal in Paris (unfortunatly we lost 3-0 to Uruguay in the final). The heroes from 1924
Switzerland - Czech Republic 1:2 (1:2) St.-Jakob-Park. - A: 13,521 - Ref: Dan Tudor (Rum). - Goals: 7. Nef 1:0. 32. Sverkos 1:1. 41. Koubsky 1:2. Although playing better, we lost this game after a 1:0 lead. The Czechs took advantage of two mistakes in defense and scored two goals. Looks like we're going to miss the U21 EC due to two individual mistakes in defense. *Sigh* If only we would've gotten a somewhat easier draw. The Czech Republic was by far the best one of the possible opponents...
Wow, just woke up and saw the score. We won 2-1!!! Overtime is coming up! 58' [1 - 0] Koubsky 64' Streller (Red Card) 77' [1 - 1] Eggiman 86' [1 - 2] Koubsky (o.g.) I hope Streller's ejection doesn'y hurt us too much in OT. HOPP SCHWIIZ!!!
They didn't get started until 13 minutes left in the game. Glad they finally woke up. They must play better with 10.
Holders sunk by Swiss: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/Under21/fixturesresults/round=1586/match=73604/Report=RP.html The game had an attendance of 11,145. Well, time to see who our opponents will be next year... Serbia & Montenegro (beat Norway) Germany (beat Turkey) Croatia (beat Scotland) Portugal (beat France) Belarus (beat Poland) Games being played right now: Italy - Denmark Spain - Sweden
Italy and Sweden advanced. So that completes the 8-team field: Switzerland Serbia & Montenegro Germany Croatia Portugal Belarus Italy Sweden Italy and Portugal are the favorites in my opinion, but I think we definitely have a shot at finishing 3rd. Uefa will announce next month where the tournament will be held. I know Germany put in a bid...