Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld blamed an attack of nerves by his players for their failure to qualify for the knockout stage of the World Cup on Friday.
The Swiss could have qualified from Group H if they had secured a two-goal victory against lowly Honduras, but instead the match ended in a 0-0 draw.
“We had great ambitions for this match. It was too much of a burden for [the players] and it got more during the game. We got more nervous and failed to pass properly,” said Hitzfeld, who was gracious in defeat, though clearly stunned.
He drew some consolation from the opening 1-0 victory against pre-tournament favorites Spain.
“The win against Spain is a win for eternity. That match is there to stay in the memory of all fans. Everyone will remember it for a long time,” he said.
For the Central Americans, the result restored a measure of pride to a campaign in which they lost twice and failed to score any goals.
“They knew what this game meant for the nation. They really showed their courage and brought everything they had,” Honduras coach Reinaldo Rueda said.
Both coaches shared a disappointment in the finishing ability of their strikers in a game that featured plenty of unfulfilled chances at both ends of the pitch.
“We lacked precision and we lacked maturity for the final strike, and we did not get a goal unfortunately,” Rueda said.
Hitzfeld said he was not happy with his midfield or his attackers.
“We haven’t lived up to our expectations. We need more strikers,” he said.
Olivier Giroud’s bicycle-kick on Tuesday broke Atletico Madrid’s resistance and earned Chelsea a crucial away goal, a 1-0 victory giving Thomas Tuchel’s side a slender advantage in the UEFA Champions League last 16. Giroud’s acrobatic strike was initially ruled out for offside, but stood after the video assistant referee showed that Mario Hermoso had the final touch, delivering a huge blow to Atletico’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals. Diego Simeone’s side had put on a typically disciplined defensive performance until that point, but Giroud’s moment of genius means that they must score in London on March 17 if they are to avoid
Tiger Woods has had surgery for multiple fractures of his right leg after a car accident that a Los Angeles police officer said he was “very fortunate” to have survived. The golfer was “awake and responsive” after the operation to insert a rod into his tibia and stabilize his ankle with pins, his TGR foundation said on Tuesday night. Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriff Carlos Gonzalez, the first to respond after Woods’ car went off the road in a single-vehicle accident, said that the sports star was “calm and lucid,” despite being trapped inside his vehicle. Woods was removed from the crash by
‘INTIMIDATING’: Andy Murray said that players on the ATP Tour face a difficult challenge going from semi-finals to facing 17-time Grand Slam winners in a final Naomi Osaka’s Australian Open championship moved her up one spot to No. 2 in the WTA rankings on Monday, while men’s finalist Daniil Medvedev rose to a career-best No. 3 behind winner Novak Djokovic on the ATP list as Andy Murray said that the “young guns” on the men’s tour have not closed the gap on the “Big Three.” Jennifer Brady, the 25-year-old American who was the runner-up to Osaka, jumped 11 spots to No. 13, her first time inside the top 20. Aslan Karatsev’s historic run from qualifying to the final four before losing to nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic allowed
‘ESCAPE FROM JUSTICE’: A US gymnast who trained under Geddert for more than 10 years and was assaulted by Larry Nassar called his suicide ‘an admission of guilt’ A former US Olympics gymnastics coach with ties to disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar on Thursday killed himself, hours after being charged with turning his Michigan gym into a hub of human trafficking by coercing girls to train and then abusing them. John Geddert faced 24 charges that could have carried years in prison had he been convicted. He was supposed to appear in an Eaton County court, near Lansing, Michigan, but his body was found at a rest area along Interstate 96, state police said. “This is a tragic end to a tragic story for everyone involved,” Michigan Attorney General Dana
RSS