Swiss Sports Minister Martin Pfister was at the game against Argentina in Kansas City on Saturday evening.
Keystone-SDA
Swiss President Guy Parmelin and Sports Minister Martin Pfister have congratulated the men’s national football team after it was knocked out of the World Cup at the quarter-final stage by Argentina.
“Thank you very much for the emotions, and a huge well done to everyone,” Parmelin wrote on the platform X.
For Parmelin, despite the disappointment, what will remain in his memory most of all is an extraordinary tournament and a close-knit team which captivated the whole of Switzerland, he wrote after the defeat early on Sunday morning (Swiss time).
Sports Minister Pfister had a similar message: even though being knocked out of the World Cup was painful, the team made Swiss football history by reaching the quarter-finals, he wrote on X. “For that, the team deserves great respect and our heartfelt thanks.”
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Pfister was in the stadium in Kansas City for the quarter-final match, which Murat Yakin’s team lost 1–3 to world champions Argentina in extra time.
Swiss parliamentarians also took to X to share their emotions after the match. Andrea Gmür-Schönenberger, a Lucerne-based Centre Party Senator, tweeted: “Our national team – what heroes! Thank you for this sensational World Cup!”
Another Centre Party parliamentarian, Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter, wrote simply: “A bitter end. Well done.” Meanwhile Patrick Hässig, a Liberal Green parliamentarian from Zurich, expressed his thanks to the team for a “midsummer fairy tale”.
Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
