The Swiss under-21 squad is set to meet Spain in the quarter-finals next Saturday at 21:00 after a dramatic group phase that culminated in a second-place finish. The European Under-21 Championship group stage, played across Romania and Georgia, left Switzerland with nine points from the campaign, solidifying their spot behind the group leaders as Italy slipped to defeat against Norway with a 0-1 result.
Switzerland endured a chastening 1-4 setback against France, a result that left them chasing the top spot in Group D. Yet, their three-point tally from the early rounds was enough to keep them in second place. The standings were decided on the tie-break rule that favored the Helvetians because they had scored more goals in their direct encounters with both Italy and Norway, breaking a three-way deadlock and ensuring a progression on head-to-head records.
Dan Ndoye opened the scoring with a neat finish after a well-worked move, but France hit back decisively. The French took the lead from the penalty spot about a quarter of an hour in, then moved ahead before halftime when Ndoye briefly drew the scores level. The visitors surged in the second half as Bradley Barcola struck on 65 minutes, followed by goals from Rayan Circassian on 76 minutes and Maxence Caqueret on 81 minutes. Those strikes sealed a convincing win for the French, who completed the group stage with maximum nine points and the top spot in the pool.
In the other Group D contest, Norway clinched a victory that shaped the final standings, though it was achieved only after a tense moment midway through the second half. Erik Bothheim found the net to put Norway ahead, and an entering substitute, Anthony Nusa, linked up from the right, drawing a foul that earned a penalty. Samuel Ricci was involved in the build-up and, with the keeper’s hesitation, Bothheim squeezed the ball home to give Norway a lead that remained unchallenged as the clock wound down. Despite late pressure from the Swiss and their rivals alike, the scoreline stayed at 0-1, keeping Switzerland in contention for the knockout rounds and setting up a Quarterfinal clash with Spain.
The final group-phase results confirmed the quarter-final pairings, with Switzerland advancing to meet Spain. Other round-of-eight matchups included Georgia versus Israel, England facing Portugal, and France taking on Ukraine. The Swiss side now looked ahead to a high-stakes clash, aiming to translate their group performance into a memorable run in the knockout stages and potentially one of the tournament’s standout moments.