Euro 2025: Host Switzerland's late goals secure 2-0 win over Iceland

BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Host nation Switzerland put its Women’s European Championship campaign back on track with a 2-0 win over Iceland on Sunday, eliminating its opponents in the process and avoiding the possibility of a penalty shootout in its final group match.

Géraldine Reuteler netted with 14 minutes remaining as the Stadion Wankdorf erupted in celebration in a sea of red, and Alayah Pilgrim sealed the result right at the death to leave their team on the brink of history.

“This is something special I have to say,” said Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage, who steered the United States to two Olympic titles. “I did not believe that Swiss people could create this kind of atmosphere.”

It was only a second-ever win at the Euros for Switzerland, which has never made it to the knockout stages.

It will now be all to play for on Thursday when Switzerland meets Finland in their final group match, with a place in the quarterfinals at stake. Both teams are level on three points — three points behind Norway, which beat Finland 2-1 earlier and has now advanced to the knockout stage as Group A champion.

The 90th-minute goal for Switzerland also means that the hosts can progress to the last eight with just a draw against Finland, courtesy of a better goal difference.

Had its match against Iceland ended 1-0, Switzerland would have been level with Finland on all the other tiebreakers if their match finishes in a draw on Thursday, necessitating a penalty shootout.

“We said it today: Every goal matters, and I’m glad we scored the two," Switzerland captain Lia Wälti told British broadcaster ITV. "So we have maybe a tiny little advantage as well with our home advantage.

"I hope we’re going to write history on Thursday.”

Iceland has zero points and is out of the tournament regardless of what happens in its final match against Norway.

Many of the players were in tears as they performed the Icelandic thunder clap with their fans after the final whistle.

In contrast to when the teams played the opening matches last Wednesday, when Switzerland was engulfed by a heat wave, it was raining for most of the match in Bern.

Iceland almost scored in the opening minute but Ingibjörg Sigurdardóttir volleyed off the crossbar.

Switzerland thought it had taken the lead on the half-hour mark. A corner was whipped in and Svenja Fölmli’s header was inadvertently nodded into the net by Glódís Perla Viggósdóttir.

Swiss fans celebrated but it was ruled out after a review on the pitchside monitor for a foul by Fölmli in the buildup.

Inside a packed stadium, with a capacity crowd of nearly 30,000, the 2,000 Icelandic fans made themselves heard, while the equally fervent home support yelled “Hopp Schwiiz.”

And almost all of them thought Switzerland had taken the lead in stunning fashion in first-half stoppage time as Iman Beney’s long-range attempt rippled the side netting.

Iceland started the second half in almost exactly the same way it had started the first — by hitting the crossbar.

This time Karolína Lea Vilhjalmsdottir’s free kick skimmed the top of the woodwork.

Switzerland had barely had a shot on target until it broke the deadlock in the 76th minute. Sydney Schertenleib threaded an intelligent ball through for Reuteler to run onto and slot into the far bottom corner.

And Switzerland wrapped up its first win in its home tournament when Pilgrim collected a pinpoint pass from another substitute Leila Wandeler and cut inside before curling into the back of the net.

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Iceland's Karolina Vilhjalmsdottir , right, reacts at the end of the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Iceland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

Switzerland players celebrate at the end of the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Iceland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (Til Buergy/Keystone via AP)

Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldorsson gestures during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Iceland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Switzerland head coach Pia Sundhage watches her team during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Iceland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Switzerland's Geraldine Reuteler celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Iceland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Switzerland's Alayah Pilgrim scores her side's second goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Iceland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

Switzerland's Geraldine Reuteler celebrates with team mates after scoring the opening goal during the Euro 2025, group A, soccer match between Switzerland and Iceland at Stadion Wankdorf in Bern, Switzerland, Sunday, July 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)