Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage promises a positive response after hosts lose Euro 2025 opener

BASEL, Switzerland (AP) — Pia Sundhage’s biggest challenge just got bigger.

The Switzerland coach was left despondent Wednesday after watching her team dominate against Norway then lose 2-1 in its opening match at the Women’s European Championship.

Ada Hegerberg led Norway's revival, cancelling Nadine Riesen’s opener by equalizing four minutes before she forced an own goal from Julia Stierli. A missed penalty wasn't even a setback for Hegerberg as her team claimed three competition points and left the hosts with none in Group A.

For Sundhage, the disappointment of defeat sat deep after her team had done so much right in front of a near-capacity crowd at St. Jakob-Park, where the vast majority were Swiss fans who were anything but neutral.

The scene had apparently been set for a triumphant start for the home team, but it wasn't to be.

“There are so many things happening behind the scenes, high performance coaches, medical staff, social things and so on, individual talks. And we felt prepared today,” Sundhage said. “That’s why I’m a little bit … It could have been such a big difference if we had tied the game, which we had a chance to do."

Géraldine Reuteler rattled the crossbar with a shot in the first half. Then she conceded the penalty in the second. Switzerland might have had a penalty too if VAR hadn’t intervened and found an offside call.

Switzerland next faces Iceland, which lost its opening game 1-0 to Finland.

“Tomorrow we’re going to work again and bring out the best performance in the team and give Iceland a tough game," Sundhage said. “I can promise you that.”

Even during her post-game news conference, the two-time Olympic title-winning coach was reflecting on the positive changes she has seen since taking the Switzerland job a year ago.

“I’ve never seen that kind of locker room previously,” she said of her players’ readiness for their opening game. “Before we left the hotel and so on, step by step. And the best part is it’s different players. They use their voice.”

Sundhage said she told her players to use their words, their language and even their body language to express themselves after the defeat.

“Because we still have a chance to play the quarterfinals. And we start with Iceland, and if we play a good game, then we put ourselves in a good spot as well,” she said. “So, be responsible for what you’re saying, what you do, and how you behave, because that will be the best thing for the Swiss national team and the Swiss people.”

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Norway's Marit B. Lund and Tuva Hansen, center right, celebrate at the end of the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Norway at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Switzerland players react at the end of the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Norway at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Switzerland head coach Pia Sundhage reacts during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Norway at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Switzerland's head coach Pia Sundhage heads to the locker room during halftime in the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Norway at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (Georgios Kefalas/ Keystone via AP)

Switzerland's Geraldine Reuteler reacts after failing to score during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Norway at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)