Portugal fought back from two goals down to clinch a draw against a stunned Switzerland in their Euro 2022 Group C opener at Leigh Sports Village.
It was the Swiss who showed an initial clinical edge as Coumba Sow fired in a superb opener and Rahel Kiwic headed in a second inside five minutes to hand them the dream start.
But a resilient Portugal replied when Diana Gomes poked in with half an hour to play and Jessica Silva deftly guided Tatiana Pinto’s cross into the bottom corner to level soon after.
With big-hitters the Netherlands and Sweden the other sides in the group, Switzerland and Portugal had marked this up as a must-win game if they were to progress to the knockout stages – and that sparked a frantic finish.
Geraldine Reuteler volleyed on to the crossbar for the Swiss and Portugal scrambled another effort off the line as the sides had to settle for a point.
Saturday’s other Group C game kicks off off at 20:00 BST.
Wildcard Portugal prove their worth
Portugal are the tournament’s wildcard entrant, having only made it to the Euros because Russia, who beat them in the qualifying play-offs, were banned.
They racked up 19 points from a possible 24 to finish second in their qualifying group, thanks largely to a frugal defence that conceded only twice, while scoring only 10 goals in eight games themselves.
It therefore looked likely to be an uphill task when their back four was breached twice in quick succession, but the lowest-ranked team in the competition came out with more purpose after the break and proved they are not merely here to make up the numbers by becoming the first side to wipe out a two-goal half-time deficit in Women’s Euros history.
The celebration from Francisco Neto’s side when Gomes scrambled in their first goal showed they believed a result was still possible and when Silva finished smartly to level, it was Portugal who seemingly had the momentum.
In the end a draw may make it difficult for them to qualify, but Portugal will at least hope to improve on their inaugural Euros campaign five years ago, when they finished bottom of the group.
Clinical Swiss fail to make it count
Any pre-tournament nerves Switzerland had were calmed in the second minute when Sow fizzed an effort into the bottom corner with virtually her first touch of the ball.
Three minutes later, things got even better. Portugal failed to deal with a free-kick hoisted into the area and Kiwic escaped her marker to head into the roof of the net, sending the lively band of travelling Swiss supporters wild in the early evening sunshine.
But despite the carnival atmosphere in the stands, that was as good as it got for their side on the pitch.
Like Portugal, Switzerland are aiming to improve on their tournament debut in 2017, when they failed to progress from the group, but they succumbed to an eight-minute double from the Portuguese in the second half.
Nils Nielsen’s side flooded forward looking for a vital winner, only to be denied by a combination of the woodwork and some last-ditch defending, meaning an entertaining encounter ended all square.
Player of the match
Fátima PintoFátima Pinto
Portugal
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Squad number13Player nameFátima PintoAverage rating
7.84
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Squad number1Player nameInês PereiraAverage rating
7.76
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Squad number23Player nameTelma Encarnação
Average rating7.64
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Squad number20Player nameKika Nazareth
Average rating7.30
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Squad number10Player nameJéssica Silva
Average rating7.30
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Squad number9Player nameAna Borges
Average rating6.93
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Squad number16Player nameDiana Silva
Average rating6.79
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Squad number11Player nameTatiana Pinto
Average rating6.76
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Squad number8Player nameAndreia Norton
Average rating6.62
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Squad number2Player nameCatarina Amado
Average rating6.59
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Squad number15Player nameCarole Costa
Average rating6.56
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Squad number19Player nameDiana Gomes
Average rating6.56
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Squad number14Player nameDolores Silva
Average rating6.48
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Squad number5Player nameJoana Marchão
Average rating6.42
Switzerland
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Squad number20Player nameHumm
Average rating7.43
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Squad number16Player nameMauron
Average rating7.43
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Squad number3Player nameMarti
Average rating7.13
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Squad number13Player nameWälti
Average rating6.88
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Squad number6Player nameReuteler
Average rating6.87
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Squad number8Player nameMaendly
Average rating6.73
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Squad number11Player nameSow
Average rating6.67
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Squad number5Player nameMaritz
Average rating6.60
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Squad number10Player nameBachmann
Average rating6.53
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Squad number14Player nameKiwic
Average rating6.33
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Squad number1Player nameThalmann
Average rating6.31
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Squad number19Player nameAigbogun
Average rating6.29
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Squad number9Player nameCrnogorcevic
Average rating6.25
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Squad number18Player nameCalligaris
Average rating6.19
Line-ups
Portugal
Formation 4-3-1-2
- 1Teixeira Pereira
- 2Silva Amado
- 19Ribeiro Gomes
- 15da Silva Costa
- 5Gaspar Silva Marchão
- 11Ferreira PintoSubstituted forFigueira Pintoat 83′minutes
- 14da Silva
- 8Norton
- 16Abreu de Sousa e Silva
- 10Manjenje Nogueira SilvaSubstituted forVelosa Encarnaçãoat 83′minutes
- 9Marques BorgesSubstituted forRamos Ribeiro Nazareth Sousaat 77′minutes
Substitutes
- 3de Figueiredo Lima Correia
- 4Garcia Rebelo
- 6Pires Cardozo
- 7Marques Malho
- 12Sousa Barros Morais
- 13Figueira Pinto
- 17Sousa Alves
- 18Trindade Coruche Mendes
- 20Ramos Ribeiro Nazareth Sousa
- 21Martins Faria
- 22Campos Costa
- 23Velosa Encarnação
Switzerland
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 1Thalmann
- 5Maritz
- 18CalligarisBooked at 69mins
- 14Kiwic
- 19AigbogunBooked at 18mins
- 9Crnogorcevic
- 13WältiSubstituted forMauronat 90+2′minutes
- 8MaendlySubstituted forMartiat 74′minutes
- 6ReutelerBooked at 82minsSubstituted forHummat 90+1′minutes
- 11Sow
- 10Bachmann
Substitutes
- 2Stierli
- 3Marti
- 4Rinast
- 7Xhemaili
- 12Peng
- 15Bühler
- 16Mauron
- 17Folmli
- 20Humm
- 21Friedli
- 22Riesen
- 23Terchoun
- Referee:
- Jana Adamkova
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Portugal Women 2, Switzerland Women 2.
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Second Half ends, Portugal Women 2, Switzerland Women 2.
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Foul by Andreia Norton (Portugal Women).
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Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic (Switzerland Women) wins a free kick on the right wing.
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Substitution, Switzerland Women. Sandrine Mauron replaces Lia Wälti.
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Substitution, Switzerland Women. Fabienne Humm replaces Géraldine Reuteler.
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Attempt blocked. Telma Encarnação (Portugal Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Diana Silva.
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Telma Encarnação (Portugal Women) hits the left post with a right footed shot from outside the box. Assisted by Kika Nazareth.
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Corner, Switzerland Women. Conceded by Catarina Amado.
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Attempt blocked. Coumba Sow (Switzerland Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ana-Maria Crnogorcevic.
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Attempt saved. Diana Silva (Portugal Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Joana Marchão.
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Substitution, Portugal Women. Telma Encarnação replaces Jéssica Silva.
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Substitution, Portugal Women. Fátima Pinto replaces Tatiana Pinto.
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Géraldine Reuteler (Switzerland Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Tatiana Pinto (Portugal Women) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Géraldine Reuteler (Switzerland Women).
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Offside, Portugal Women. Joana Marchão tries a through ball, but Jéssica Silva is caught offside.
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Géraldine Reuteler (Switzerland Women) hits the bar with a right footed shot from the centre of the box following a corner.
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Corner, Switzerland Women. Conceded by Joana Marchão.
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Foul by Kika Nazareth (Portugal Women).