Switzerland very nearly wrote one of the most beautiful pages in its history. Against Croatia, the Helvetians raced in the lead for more than three quarters of time, before cracking (56-64).
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In front of 1,387 spectators at the Salle Saint-Léonard in Fribourg, the Swiss team produced a much more successful performance than during the first leg (53-84), where they had been outclassed in the interior game. Facing a Croatia, 23rd team in the world but deprived of nine elements on its usual base twelve, the men of Ilias Papatheodorou bravely played their luck.
From the first second of play, Roberto Kovac and his teammates showed esprit de corps, seeking the best possible fluidity in attack and leaving only a minimum of easy shots to the visitors.
Without complex, like the Hamburg player Anthony Polite and the Geneva interior Michel-Ofik Nzege, the Swiss have all the same suffered from a certain lack of experience of the high level, commenting on numerous faults, against a majority of players accustomed to playing in the Atlantic League or European club competitions.
Paul Gravet leads by example
In the lead at half-time (38-32), thanks in particular to 9 points and 2 assists in the first quarter of a brilliant Paul Gravet, Arnaud Cotture and others then suffered against a much more friendly Croatia defensively. The five consecutive points of the pivot of Friborg Olympic (from 38-37 to 43-37, in the 25th) however allowed the Helvetians not to find themselves led from the start of the third quarter.
The dream of beating a great European after Russia in 2014 and Serbia in 2020 finally lasted 34 minutes (53-55). Deserved in view of its second half, the Croatian victory finally proved to be severe at the final whistle for a Swiss who broke down offensively in the final quarter (7 points scored).
Defeated, the Swiss team will again receive Poland, this Sunday in Friborg (5 p.m.) then will play a final pre-qualifying tournament giving access to the qualifications proper for Euro 2025. Its future opponents are not yet known.
Paul Gravet – Swiss MVP of the match
- “We stuck to the game plan very well in the first half. We were able to play very aggressively. Our team is progressing little by little.” […] “This kind of match, with such intensity, we never play them in Switzerland”, estimated for his part, the Swiss captain, Roberto Kovac. Despite the defeat, the Ticino was proud. “We were able to put our opponents in difficulty for 34 minutes. In the end, we simply lacked lucidity. We were too tired.”
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