Hundreds welcome the Swiss national team.

Hundreds of fans celebrated on Tuesday in Zurich for the Swiss national football team after their return from the 2026 World Cup, where they reached the quarter-finals for the first time in 72 years before being eliminated by the defending champion Argentina.

Two hours after their arrival from the United States, national team coach Murat Yakin, captain Granit Xhaka, rising star Johan Mvuka, and their teammates took turns thanking their supporters who gathered under the sun in the spacious Turbinenplatz square surrounded by modern buildings.

Yakin said through a megaphone: “We would have loved to stay an extra week; but it’s also great to meet our fans again in such an atmosphere,” expressing his “great pride in the work that was accomplished.”

In the United States, the national team of this country, with a population of about nine million, succeeded in reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1954.

However, as happened in the Round of 16 of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (0-1), they lost after extra time to Argentina and its star Lionel Messi 1-3 in a match that they finished with ten players after Breel Embolo was sent off in the 72nd minute.

The match took place on Sunday at three in the morning Swiss time; this led many fans to stay up all night, while many bars and restaurants kept their doors open.

Starting goalkeeper Gregor Kobel said in front of the crowd: “It’s crazy that people wake up at three in the morning to watch our match. It’s amazing. The videos we saw and that everyone received were really great.”

He added, alongside captain Granit Xhaka wearing a shirt that read “History” like all the players: “Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough in the end. With a little extra luck, we could have gone further. But that’s football, and we accept the result.”

Roman, one of the “Nati” fans coming from a suburb of Zurich, told AFP: “It was great to celebrate here with all the fans and welcome the team that gave us so much joy. We know they were close to qualifying, but it was nice to celebrate them.”

For her part, Jernin, who attended with her family from the city of Basel (in the north of the country), said, “It was wonderful. We woke up early every day to watch the matches on television. It was emotional and amazing!”

The Swiss national team is scheduled to gather again in two months to play two matches in the UEFA Nations League; the first against North Macedonia on September 26, and the second against Scotland on the 29th of the same month.