The choir sang the Russian anthem! The act of the Europeans instantly became a hit on the Internet

Today it seems like a parallel reality, but in 2021 Russia was one of the countries hosting the European Football Championship. Some matches took place in St. Petersburg, at the Gazprom Arena, in particular the quarterfinals, where Switzerland met with Spain.

The atmosphere around the arena on game day was incredibly warm and friendly.

sensation in the playoffs

The Swiss national team arrived in St. Petersburg against the backdrop of a sensational victory, which it had previously achieved in the 1/8 finals. The Swiss then beat the world champions – the French national team on penalties, reducing the main time to a draw 3:3 and winning back in the last minutes of the meeting. It cannot be said that the French played poorly, but their opponents, who are usually considered at most strong middle peasants at major tournaments, were too charged.

The meeting with the Spaniards in the quarterfinals continued the trend: it again went to a penalty shootout. This time regulation time ended with the score 1:1. However, few people manage to win two series in one tournament. This time the Swiss were not so lucky and missed the Spaniards into the semi-finals. They, in turn, at the next stage failed to beat Italy, which in a dramatic match reached the final, where they then defeated the English again in a penalty shootout.

Football players of the Swiss national team / Photo: © Zac Goodwin – PA Images / Contributor / PA Images / Gettyimages.ru

Cool atmosphere

Despite the defeat, fans from Switzerland still enjoyed the European Championship and, in particular, their stay in Russia. The Alpine guests celebrated not only the more than decent performance of their team, but also simply the opportunity to spend time in company again: Euro 2021 became the first major football tournament after the COVID-19 pandemic, where fans, albeit with social distancing, were allowed into the stands.

A fairly large group of fans of the Swiss national team arrived in St. Petersburg and had fun in the vicinity of the stadium on the eve of the game. Among his compatriots was Luka Lutenbach, one of the memes of that European Championship. The guy was caught on camera during that same match with the French. In the last minutes of the meeting, he was so actively worried about his team that the cameramen simply could not help but snatch such a colorful shot.

Luka might not have come to the quarterfinals, but crowdfunding helped him. Near the Gazprom Arena, many recognized the Swiss and even took pictures with him. When asked to repeat the emotions that became a meme, he himself replied that it was better to wait for the match.

Other Swiss fans also made their mark. A group of several elderly fans stretched out Swiss flags and suddenly began to sing… the Russian anthem! The European guests of the Northern capital clearly did not know the words, but they reproduced the tune very well.

Fans of the Swiss national team / Photo: © SOPA Images / Contributor / Contributor / LightRocket / Gettyimages.ru

It’s amazing that things like this happened just recently. This situation once again shows that ordinary people are far from political intrigues and are always open to foreign cultures. Unfortunately, in the highest offices they are guided by short-term political gain, without thinking about the good of people around the world, for whom sport is truly a unifying factor.