Soccer-Heat wilts players but not fans' spirit at Sweden-Denmark Euros clash

Despite the early evening sun blasting down on the Stade de Geneve on Friday, the enthusiasm of fans did not wilt in the heat during Sweden's 1-0 victory over Denmark in the Women's European Championship.

Midfielder Filippa Angeldahl scored for Sweden in a third straight game, securing the win in the opening game of Group C. The so-called "soft-hooligans" of Sweden lived up to their name with emphatic chants throughout the match and even one ABBA-inspired sing-along.

"Having the crowd, it means so much, like you could hear them all through the game, like having our backs, pushing us through," Sweden defender Linda Sembrandt told Reuters. Swedish fans brimmed with confidence from the start of the match, putting up a bright yellow display reading: "The gold is coming home".

"When you come out on the pitch and see everyone... you can't describe how important that is," said Swedish forward Madelen Janogy. Danish fans tried their best to reply with bellowing drums and "Danmark" chants to fire up their side but the Danish "Roligans" could not quite compete with their Scandinavian rivals who dominated the stadium with their anthems.

Temperatures peaked at 30 degrees Celsius, which players said had an impact on their performance. "It was really hot. It's hard to prepare for it, like we have training in it, but it was really hot today. A few people got cramps," Sembrandt said.

The game was stopped on a number of occasions for players to refresh with drinks. "It was a lot of stops. We had a cooling break because it's hot, and that's what the referee wanted... That's just something you have to deal with. You sometimes have to be a little more smarter the way you play," Denmark's Janni Thomsen told Reuters.

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