Ada Hegerberg’s close-range header and a Julia Stierli own goal, both in the second half, gave Norway all three points in front of 34,000 passionate fans at St Jakob-Park in baking Basel.
Temperatures were still as high as 28 degrees Celsius when the final whistle blew at the end of a roasting hot day in which Finland opened the tournament with a 1-0 win over Iceland.
Norway lead Finland on goals scored after another spotty display which did little to suggest a team featuring stars like Hegerberg – who also missed a penalty – and Barcelona winger Caroline Graham Hansen could win a first major honour since gold at the 2000 Olympics.
“I always say in football that you make your own luck,” said Norway coach Gemma Grainger.
“The games are going to be tight in these championships, sometimes you want a perfect world where you perform and win,” she added. “Sometimes you perform and you don’t win.”
The Swiss were on the front foot for most of the first half and were unlucky not to be ahead in the 24th minute when Geraldine Reuteler smashed an effort from distance off the crossbar.
But Nadine Riesen, who had been the best player on the pitch up to that point, was on hand put the hosts ahead four minutes later.
The Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder pounced when her own cross to Smilla Vallotto ricocheted back to her, allowing her to scuff in the opener off the near post.
But Hegerberg hit the Swiss with a sucker punch with her simple header gifted to her by goalkeeper Livia Peng flapping at a corner eight minutes after half-time.
And the Lyon striker roared with joy four minutes later when Stierli beat her to Graham Hansen’s low cross only to divert it into her own net.
Hegerberg, whose opener was her first goal for her country this year, then wasted a glorious opportunity to double Norway’s lead when she dragged her penalty well wide following a clear Reuteler handball.
The 29-year-old’s blushes were saved almost immediately afterwards when VAR overturned a penalty given to Switzerland for a soft-looking foul on Riesen, and Norway held out for the win. (AFP)
