Feltscher finds Swiss consolation

Having had a taste of life at a UEFA European Championship, Rolf Feltscher is hungry for more – although he will have to wait at least another two years following Switzerland's last-gasp elimination at the hands of Ukraine.

Late heartbreak
Claude Ryf's side went into the final round of games top of Group A having drawn with England before defeating Slovenia and needed only a point against the hosts to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2004. The 45th-minute dismissal of Vitaliy Kaverin further strengthened the Swiss hand and they looked on course for the required result, only for Serhiy Rybalka to pounce five minutes from time to send Ukraine through. Feltscher nevertheless remained philosophical, telling uefa.com: "This tournament has been a great experience; it's been great to be here. It's been my first European Championship and I've really enjoyed it."

'Really positive'
Although clearly disappointed at the manner of his side's exit, the Swiss captain was able to find some positives when he looked at the finals overall, explaining: "There's eight really good teams here – I thought Spain were excellent, technically very good – so to get two good results is really positive for us. England have some really good players, Slovenia are not as strong individually but they really fight. They're not technically that good but they're a very hard team and they were very difficult to play against. That was a difficult match for us, it wasn't a very big pitch and it was a game where we had to fight. Slovenia's goal was incredible, a cross that went straight into our net, but when they went down to ten men we believed in ourselves more, we made it 1-1 and then went on to win."

'Never stop believing'
That game was won by two late Swiss goals and, with Sébastien Wüthrich's added-time strike against England on Matchday 1, suggested Ryf's side possessed particular mental strength, although they came unstuck late on against Ukraine. Feltscher, however, believes that the first two games are more indicative of Switzerland's psychological fortitude, adding: "We have a good mentality; we believe for 90 minutes, right to the end of the match. That's a big thing for us; we never stop believing. Our game in Switzerland is to play with the ball, not to play long balls forward. We have very good technical players and we try to make the most of them."

'Lot of potential'
Having missed out on the semi-finals – something he said would have been "a big deal for Switzerland and a really big thing for all of us" – Feltscher is one of 12 players in Ryf's 18-man squad who will now step up to the Under-21s, and the Grasshopper-Club centre-back is confident this team will go on to achieve big things in the future. "I've enjoyed being captain here. I have a lot to say, maybe too much! That's very important for our team. Every team needs a player who shouts, who leads the rest, and that's been me. We have a lot of potential in this team – our attacking play has been really good here. I think we had 33 shots on goal in our first two games and we're one of the best U19 teams Switzerland has ever had."