Tag: Switzerland

Ludvig Aberg makes Ryder Cup claim with first professional win on DP World Tour

Aberg’s win comes in just his sixth start on the DP World Tour.

Well that didn’t take long.

Rookie Ludvig Aberg claimed his first professional victory on Sunday at the DP World Tour’s 2023 Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club in Crans Montana, Switzerland.

“I don’t even know where to start, it’s a pretty surreal feeling to be honest. Obviously super, super happy,” said Aberg. “I’ve always had that belief that I’ve been able to do it, but to do it is pretty cool.”

The 23-year-old rising star from Sweden fired a 6-under 64 after bogeying his first hole to finish at 19 under, two shots clear of Alexander Bjork (66) and three clear of Matt Fitzpatrick (69) and Connor Syme (67). The win comes in Aberg’s sixth start on the European-based circuit.

“I started the day three back, I knew Matt was playing well so I needed to put a big score up,” said Aberg. “Felt I was playing pretty well all day, just wasn’t making any putts. Got it going on the back nine.”

The hype has been building around Aberg – who sits 200th in the Official World Golf Ranking but 17th in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking – for a few years now and has reached its peak seeing as the win comes just a day before European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald will make his six captain’s picks for the upcoming matches in Italy later this month. After all, Aberg was paired with European vice captains Nicolas Colsaerts and Edoardo Molinari for the first two rounds at the European Masters.

“It’s a testament that I’m doing good stuff,” he added. “Winning any tournament is a lot of fun, to do it this quickly (as a professional), I’m over the moon.”

Aberg became the first player in history to earn PGA Tour membership via PGA Tour University earlier this season and made his pro debut at the RBC Canadian Open. This season on Tour, the former star at Texas Tech has four top-25 finishes in seven starts, including a T-4 at the John Deere Classic.

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2023 Women’s World Cup Knockout Stage Day 1 Recap: Spain, Japan advance

The two favorites scored convincing wins on the first day of knockout stage action

After a one-day break, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup got back underway as the knockout stage of the tournament was kickstarted by two games: Spain took on Switzerland, and Japan squared off against Norway. In the end, neither game was a nail-biter, as both of the higher-ranked squads won fairly decisively.

But before we get into the action, here is your daily reminder that you can follow the entirety of this year’s World Cup right here on Pro Soccer Wire! You can keep up with the full TV/streaming schedule, a power ranking of all 16 knockout stage teams, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Now, let’s get into the games.

Laia Codina just scored the best (own) goal of this World Cup

Don’t worry, she scored at the other end too

Maybe Spain just felt Switzerland needed some help?

Laia Codina, the Barcelona center back whose future points to being one of the world’s best, gifted Switzerland the strangest goal of this World Cup, passing the ball into her own goal from beyond the center circle early in a round of 16 match at Eden Park in Auckland.

The goal was scored from so far out that even with Codina getting some air under an attempted backpass to goalkeeper Cata Coll (who made her international debut on the night), it took over four full seconds to travel the distance and cross the line.

In truth, the overmatched Swiss did need someone to lend them a hand. Spain had opened the game by pulling Switzerland’s shape apart, eventually taking the lead in the fifth minute through Aitana Bonmatí. Codina’s gift came six minutes later, but Spain took the lead back in the 17th minute on a finish from Alba Redondo.

That meant that the first 17 minutes of this game had more goals in total than all three Swiss matches in Group A, where Inka Grings’ side more or less drifted to a 2-0 win over the Philippines and two straight scoreless draws against a disinterested Norway and a toothless New Zealand.

Before the Swiss could sort themselves, the onslaught continued. Bonmatí struck again in the 36th minute, with the rest of Spain’s players apparently disagreeing Codina’s choice to help the Swiss make this match more of a contest.

Having been overruled, Codina got with the program, scoring a goal at the other end by fighting off basically the entire Swiss defense to punch home a corner in the late moments of the first half.

Jennifer Hermoso would add a fifth goal in the second half as Spain cruised to the quarterfinals with a 5-1 win.

Check out Codina’s impossible own goal

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World Cup knockout round power rankings: Evaluating all 16 teams

Evaluating the hopes of the 16 teams left at this World Cup

A World Cup group stage full of surprises has resulted in a truly intriguing set of 16 teams going through to the knockout rounds.

Some favorites have looked the part, but the list of big teams that have underachieved is significantly longer (it’s not just the U.S. women’s national team, folks). A couple of second-tier teams have stepped their game up, while some unheralded sides have shown that while no one was watching, they were making major strides.

The result is a round of 16 where it feels like nearly anything could happen. Could the USWNT join the likes of Germany, Brazil, and Canada in being out? What about the possibility of teams like Jamaica, Morocco, and South Africa getting to the quarterfinals?

It’s been completely unpredictable, so all of these things are distinctly possible. Still, Pro Soccer Wire tried to sort out the likelihood of any one team making a run to the final. Somewhere between their results in this tournament, past track record, and overall talent level, we’ve settled on a power rankings list that everyone everywhere will surely have no problems with.

2023 Women’s World Cup Day 11 Recap: Colombia stuns Germany

Colombia scored a 97th-minute winner to produce one of the shocks of the tournament so far

There was plenty of action on Day 11 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, as the first group completed its matches and another was shaken up by a huge upset. There were four games on Day 11: South Korea took on Morocco, Norway faced off against the Philippines, Switzerland played New Zealand, and Germany battled against Colombia.

But before we get into the games, here’s your daily reminder that you can keep up with the entire World Cup right here at Pro Soccer Wire! You can get the full TV/streaming schedule, an updated list of the group stage standings, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Now, let’s see how the games played out.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Day 6 Recap: Philippines makes history

The Philippines stunned host nation New Zealand to notch its first ever World Cup win

Another day, another slate of 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup action to unpack. We had three games on Day 6, all of which came with their fair share of intrigue. Colombia faced off against the Korea Republic, New Zealand took on the Philippines, and Switzerland battled it out against Norway.

But as always, before we get into the games, this is your reminder that you can follow the entirety of the World Cup right here at Pro Soccer Wire! Check out the TV/streaming schedule, the updated list of the group stage standings, and the race for the Golden Boot.

Let’s get into the action.

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Day 2 Recap: Spain, Switzerland dominate

Spain and Switzerland showed their class, while Canada was held to a frustrating draw

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is officially getting into the swing of things, as Day 2 of the event saw a three-game slate on Friday (Or Thursday night into early Friday morning, for those not living in the host countries). Nigeria took on Canada, Switzerland faced off against the Philippines, and Spain battled it out against Costa Rica.

Before diving into the action, a quick reminder about our coverage of the World Cup here at Pro Soccer Wire. Make sure to keep up with the games by checking out the TV/streaming schedule, a constantly updated list of the standings, and the Golden Boot race at all times.

With that, let’s see how the games played out on Day 2.

Bucs expand international home marketing area into Austria and Switzerland

The Bucs are breaking into more international markets.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ international market is growing bigger.

The Bucs began a marketing relationship with Germany in 2022 as part of the NFL’s International Home Marketing Areas program, but the team announced on Tuesday that the team is expanding into Austria and Switzerland through the program.

According to the team, the program “grants NFL clubs access to international markets for marketing, fan engagement and commercialization activations as part of an important, long-term, strategic effort to enable clubs to build their brands globally while driving NFL fan growth beyond the US.” As a part of the initiative with Germany, the Bucs played a game in soccer club Bayern Munich’s stadium against the Seattle Seahawks in 2022. It’s currently unknown if the Buccaneers plan to play in Austria or Switzerland.

The Kansas City Chiefs also began a marketing relationship with Germany through the program and have expanded into Switzerland and Austria as well. 

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Chiefs awarded international marketing rights for Austria, Switzerland

The #Chiefs were awarded marketing rights for Austria and Switzerland on Tuesday as part of the NFL’s effort to expand internationally

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to make a huge impact on the European market for the NFL after being awarded international marketing rights for Austria and Switzerland on Tuesday.

The announcement was made just days before the 2023 NFL draft is set to take place in Kansas City and will have a major effect on the team’s international reach after their Super Bowl championship in February.

Chiefs president Mark Donovan issued a statement in the team’s release about the new rights, noting that Kansas City is primed to do big things in the international market in the coming years.

“We have committed a lot of energy and effort into growing the Chiefs brand – as well as helping grow the NFL – internationally, and today’s development is going to continue to allow us to invest in European markets,” Donovan explained in his statement.

“The game this season in Germany, much like our games in London and Mexico City, will create amazing opportunities for our fans. Given our history, we think we’re uniquely positioned to take advantage of these expanded commercial and fan development rights in Austria and Switzerland, and we can’t wait to get started.”

The league’s decision to give the Super Bowl champions rights to an expanded market in Europe is a no-brainer, especially given that the Chiefs are already heavily involved in the international marketing program. In 2021, Kansas City was awarded rights to Germany and Mexico as part of the NFL’s initial expansion into markets outside of the United States, and the team is set to play its first game in Munich this season against the Chicago Bears.

Whether games will be played in Austria or Switzerland in the coming years is unknown at this point, but the sheer volume of potential fans in the Chiefs’ new sphere of influence should help the team gain traction across the pond.

Star in your own fairytale at these majestic landscapes

Find the magic in nature.

Fields of flowers awash in kaleidoscopic colors and ethereal castles of ice may seem like places only found in fairytales. However, you can experience these natural wonders in real life, if you know where to look.

From Japan to Ecuador and everywhere in between, the world is full of stunning scenery. Some of these landscapes are so gorgeous that visitors might even feel like they’ve stepped into a storybook come to life. While the busy and often stressful world can distract people from nature’s serenity, it’s worthwhile to take a break and appreciate the wilderness. If you’re ready to add some whimsy and wonder to your life, start by exploring these eight magical destinations.