Finland 1-1 Switzerland: Late Xhemaili goal saves host nation | OneFootball

A very equaliser from substitute Riola Xhemaili sent Switzerland to the quarter-finals of Euro 2025 and eliminated Finland in the process.

There was little to split the sides throughout much of the game at the Stade de Genève, but a penalty goal courtesy of Natalia Kuikka 10 minutes from time gave Finland the lead.

However, it was a the stoppage-time equaliser from Xhemaili which defined the game, the goal enough to send Switzerland to the last eight of their own European Championship on goal difference.

As it happened

With both sides sat on three points before a ball was kicked, the situation was clear: Switzerland, benefiting from a superior goal difference, could qualify for the quarter-finals of Euro 2025 with just a draw; Finland, afforded no such privilege, knew three points was the only acceptable outcome.

One might assume, then, that Marko Saloranta’s side would explode out of the blocks, but that wasn’t the case. Left of a back three, Switzerland’s Noelle Maritz had galloped into the box to take the first shot in the seventh minute, though it was blocked by Katariina Kosola before it could concern Anna Koivunen between the sticks.

That was the first chance, and in truth, Switzerland created the better of the opportunities throughout the first half. Four minutes after that miss, Viola Calligaris really should’ve scored with an acrobatic effort under no pressure following a free kick, but she couldn’t make contact with the ball.

Sydney Schertenleib was next to be denied with a curler from range punched adrift of the goal by Koivunen, and from the cross that followed, Svenje Fölmli’s deft flick trickled just wide.

As for Finland, they looked most dangerous when Eveliina Summanen was stood over dead balls; Oona Svenius powered a header to which Livia Peng couldn’t hold on after one delivery in the 22nd minute, and the best chance of the half came right at the end of the half through the same means.

This time, the whipped ball rather hit Eva Nyström as opposed to the Fin actually making deliberate contact. Still, the ball flew goalwards from close quarters, and it would’ve been a goal had Peng not made an entirely instinctive dive to prevent it.

In truth, there was little to separate the two sides: it didn’t look as though one side needed three points more than the other.

The second half was cagier. Chances were fewer and further between, shots were speculative, time on the ball was limited.

It took until the 72nd minute for a tangible chance, with Swiss substitute Leila Wandeler sending a cross with too much pace and too much height for a totally unmarked Smilla Vallotto, whose eventual header was subsequently sent over the crossbar.

But then, with a little over 10 minutes of football left to play: the crucial moment, and a moment of madness at that. Emma Koivisto was on the ball – in the box, yes, but at the byline also. A shot was improbable, the danger was minimal, yet Calligaris elected to dive in with an outstretched leg. Koivisto was felled and referee Stéphanie Frappart pointed to the spot with no hesitation.

It was the experienced Kuikka who stepped up to take the penalty, and she rolled it down the middle with Peng having dived to her right. The tournament hosts, who had been doing just about enough for 80 minutes, were 10 away from an early exit.

No surprise, then, that Switzerland spent those final minutes and the additional seven in stoppage time plugging desperately for the goal to keep them alive. When their all-time top-scorer Ana-Maria Crnogorčević headed over from a golden position, all hope looked lost. Until it wasn’t.

Five minutes were left and Géraldine Reuteler, Switzerland’s best player at these European Championships, had let fly just inside the area but the shot was dragging wide – but also directly into the path of Xhemaili, who was positioned perfectly to slot the ball past a static Koivunen. Right at the end, Switzerland had done enough. Just enough.

Finland exit Euro 2025 in agonising circumstances, but it was the latest of escapes for a Swiss side whose home campaign will, belatedly, continue.

The lineups

FIN: Koivunen; Koivisto, Kuikka, Nyström, Tynnilä; Öling, Siren, Summanen, Kosola; Sevenius, Sällström