Vallotto relishing Norway challenge in Switzerland’s opening match at Women’s Euro ’25

Hosts Switzerland kick off their Women’s Euro 2025 against Norway in Basel on Wednesday, and for Swiss midfielder Smilla Vallotto the game will be a dream come true as she faces the country where she grew up and fell in love with the game.

Vallotto was born in Geneva before her family moved to Norway four years later, and it was in the southwestern city of Stavanger that Smilla began her path in the game.

However, despite a successful start in Norwegian grassroots football, when the time came to pick a national team to represent, the choice fell on the country of her birth.

“To play against great players who play in the biggest clubs in the world, it will absolutely be tough, but it will be a great experience,” Vallotto told Reuters in an interview.

The two sides have already met twice in the Women’s Nations League this year, with Norway winning 1-0 away and 2-1 at home, giving Vallotto a flavour of what awaits at St. Jakob-Park in Basel on Wednesday evening as the tournament gets underway.

“It will be a little strange to hear the (Norwegian) national anthem, I always hum along to it. We are hungry for revenge for two defeats that weren’t deserved, we could have had draws so we are hungry for revenge,” Vallotto said.

On July 1, her transfer from Swedish club Hammarby to VfL Wolfsburg in Germany became official, but the 21-year-old said she hasn’t been affected by the hype surrounding the Euros or the change of club in recent months.

“For me, it’s always been about taking one game at a time - I don’t really think about the long term, I think about the short term, so it hasn’t been too stressful,” she added.

“I’ve developed a huge amount since I came to Hammarby, I’ve had a big progression with good coaches and good players who make me better every day. I never thought I would have had such a good progression after two years in Hammarby, but I’ve done it and now I feel ready for something different.”

The only short-term goal in sight for Vallotto as the Euros begin is getting through to the knockout round.

“We want to get out of the group stage and get to the quarter-finals and then see how well we do, but on home soil, everything can happen,” she said.

Meanwhile, Norway’s squad will be paying scant attention to the weather when the Women’s European Championship begins on Wednesday, despite a decision by UEFA to allow fans to bring bottles of water to games due to a heatwave in Switzerland. Speaking at a press conference in a sweltering room at the St. Jakob-Park stadium ahead of her side’s clash with their Swiss hosts on Wednesday evening, Norway coach Gemma Grainger said her side would not be hiding behind the conditions.

“For me, the weather is just how it is - whether it’s wind, rain, sun, it’s not an excuse, it’s just something that you have to get on with. It’s the same with the pitch, with the stadium, so for both teams, it’s exactly the same,” she said.

“Of course, we’ve had some good strategies to make sure that we can recover well, so that’s all in place, but actually, tomorrow night the weather will not be on our minds, it’ll be about enjoying this game and making sure that the team can perform.”

European soccer governing body UEFA is taking the warm weather seriously, with free sunscreen available in stations at the fan park in Basel and a relaxation of the rules around bringing water bottles into the stadiums.

Earlier on Tuesday, UEFA said that the normally strict security rules would be relaxed to allow fans attending matches on the first two days (July 2 and 3) to bring a half-litre plastic or aluminium water bottle into the stadium, though no glass bottles will be allowed.

Agencies