And yet things turned out differently: the first 4 minutes of the first group game against Belgium were an absolute shocker – the Swiss national team was 3-0 down. And yes, it’s understandable that one or two fans – on site or on the live stream – thought: that’s probably it (ok, at least that’s what the author thought, but he’s not a field hockey expert … and certainly not an indoor field hockey guru 😉) … But our ladies showed what they were really made of: fighting spirit, enthusiasm and an absolute will not to give up. And once again it was confirmed: where there’s a will, there’s a goal. And in this case even 3 of them. In the end, they were beaten by the Belgians 3:4. But our ladies were definitely winners of hearts after this fight.

And our ladies also entered their second group match as winners of hearts. Against Germany, the big canton, the title record holder. A giant. Against whom our ladies were able to fight out a 4:2 lead in the course of the match. You have to remember: the Swiss women’s national team was leading 4:2 against the heavy favorites from Germany. This not only shocked our ladies, but of course also the Danas. Until shortly before the end, the German ladies not only managed to score the equalizer, but even took a 5:4 lead. And here again comes something that characterizes the Swiss national team: Strong nerves, coolness and composure (PS: Greetings to Fabio Landtwing for probably the GOATest goal of the men’s European Indoor Championship!) With the last penalty corner, just seconds before the final whistle, the Swiss women secured the equalizer and thus the first point. The giant falters, the Swiss national team succeeds.

With so much epinephrine (better known as adrenaline) in their blood, our women faced Ireland in their third group game and yes, a win was needed. No sooner said than done: the Swiss national team brought the game home with a clear 5:1 victory. The next 3 points were secured.

Next up was Austria. The runners-up from 2025, the world number one in indoor field hockey. The game was critical – for both teams. It would decide what the final and placement rounds would look like. It decided the course of the last matchday. And once again our Swiss ladies were able to take the lead. And again the team from Austria fought back to equalize. Despite a lot of fighting spirit on both sides, the final score was 1:1. For the Swiss team, this means going into the placement rounds.

Whether it was the disappointment or the tough and exhausting games – especially against Germany and Austria – the game against Ukraine was unfortunately lost 3:5 (to the surprise of the fans and hopefully not just the author … but as I said: he has no idea about indoor field hockey 😊). And so the last game against Poland (world champions 2025! Sic!!!!) was on the agenda. But here too: Surprise, it wasn’t the world champions who won, but our women’s national team!!! With 4:3.

In the end, Eurohockey made the following statement in its post: “7th place – Switzerland’s best epic finish since 2018!” We have nothing more to add.

But perhaps one more important note at the end: in addition to the team success, Raffaela Triebold and Sofi Stomps were also able to celebrate – for their 50 caps. Congratulations to both of you and if you would like to read more about Raffaela and Sofi, there is an interview with both of them in this newsletter.