The women’s national team will meet for the first time after the European Championship – whether coach Sundhage will continue remains to be seen

It's been three months since Switzerland was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the European Championship at home against Spain . Now the women's national football team is meeting again for the first time. On Tuesday, national coach Pia Sundhage announced the squad for the two friendlies against Canada in Lucerne (October 24) and away against Scotland (October 28).

There are no major surprises, and the core of the successful European Championship team remains intact. New to the squad are Aurélie Csillag, Leela Egli (both SC Freiburg), and Lia Kamber (FC Basel). They replace Laia Ballesté, Svenja Fölmli (both injured), and Sandrine Gaillard, who wants to settle into North America at her new club, Tampa Bay.

The most important personnel issue currently concerns less the team than the boss herself. The experienced coach was originally hired to lead the young team to and through the European Championships. However, when the team thrilled the country with its bold football, the signs suddenly stopped pointing toward her departure. Sundhage's contract runs until the end of the year, which still includes the sportingly meaningless international matches in November. However, next year marks the start of qualifying for the World Cup in Brazil in summer 2027 – a significant hurdle for Switzerland.

Immediately after the tournament, Sundhage made it clear that she could well envision a contract extension. However, she attached conditions to such a deal: Her assistant would have to be permanently employed by the association; previously, her two assistants had worked on a contract basis. For the men's team, permanent employment is a given; Davide Callà, Murat Yakin's assistant, has a full-time position. Peter Knäbel, President of the Swiss Football Association (SFV), described Sundhage's request in "Blick" as "absolutely understandable."

The Swede reiterated on Tuesday that she would like to remain part of the national team's next tour. She said she had carefully analyzed what she needed to work best—namely, a full-time assistant. What was the association's reaction to the request? She is waiting for the next step, Sundhage said.

In other words: The ball is in the association's court. And they're taking their time. At the end of August, Peter Knäbel said in an interview with the "NZZ am Sonntag" newspaper that Marion Daube, the association's director of women's football, and Johan Djourou, the sporting coordinator, were working on "a major European Championship analysis." One wonders how comprehensive this analysis will be if it isn't completed three months after the tournament. This is a puzzling fact; for the men, it would be inconceivable that the filling of the most important position in the national team would remain unresolved for so long. Especially since World Cup qualification is a crucial phase ahead.

At least with regard to some key players, the situation is clearer, which should make Sundhage optimistic. Until shortly before the home tournament, the attack was a weak point in the Swiss team. But Riola Xhemaili , the striker who shot Switzerland into the quarterfinals at the European Championships with her last-minute goal against Finland, continues to score for PSV. She has already scored seven goals in five matches, including three last weekend against Breda.

Iman Beney was one of the Swiss players who took a big step after the European Championship. The 19-year-old moved from Swiss champions YBOROUGH to Manchester City in the English top flight , a team packed with stars like Vivianne Miedema, Lauren Hemp, and Khadija Shaw. Beney's record is impressive: she made five partial appearances in the league and scored a goal in each of her last two matches.

Sundhage expressed confidence on Tuesday that Switzerland's captain Lia Wälti would also be available for the two test matches. Wälti had carried the team through the tournament despite a damaged knee . She was the Swiss face of the European Championship and made no secret of how much the home tournament meant to her.

After the exit, she was at the end of her strength. At the beginning of August, the 32-year-old had to undergo a second operation for an abscess. Seeing no prospect of regular appearances at Arsenal, she transferred to Juventus Turin in September after seven years in England. She came on as a substitute twice in the league and played a good hour in Juventus' Champions League victory against Benfica. These were encouraging first steps.

The goalkeeping debate, which Livia Peng had won just before the European Championship, is likely to flare up again. Her move to Chelsea was risky given the national team. It was foreseeable that she would not be able to beat Hannah Hampton for the English champions. The English European champion was just named the world's best goalkeeper at the Ballon d'Or. Peng's only appearance so far was in the Champions League match against Twente (1-1). Sundhage said the goalkeeping coaches will assess the team's performance in training and decide who will start in goal for the friendlies.

Perhaps there would have been some coaches who would have been tense or upset about the uncertain future. Sundhage was as always: relaxed. She was asked if she had set a deadline for the decision. "Not really," Sundhage said, adding that she's working with the team as long as she can. "I'm not 40 anymore. I'm relaxed."

Pia Sundhage's strong identification with Switzerland is demonstrated by last Friday's men's World Cup qualifier against Sweden, which Switzerland won 2-0. Sundhage watched it and was delighted. She said: "I'm proud of Murat Yakin and his team."