The day after Christmas, Switzerland gained revenge with a 3-2 win -- and so was born a friendly rivalry between the two Alpine neighbours which reached its competitive peak in the highest-scoring World Cup match of all time. Austria's 7-5 win over Switzerland in the 1954 World Cup quarter-final in Lausanne has a lasting place in the history books. Now the two nations are looking to write a new chapter in their joint soccer rivalry and friendship.

That 1954 match is arguably the only one ever between the two sides to capture the imagination of the wider footballing fraternity as, apart from the 1930s when Hugo Meisl's "Wunderteam" threatened to win the World Cup itself, Austrian and Swiss soccer has largely been confined to the also-rans' section of club and international competition.

That could change in 2008 if their joint bid to stage the European championship is successful.

Their teams might have to improve considerably on the field to reach the later stages of the competition but there is no doubt the infrastructure will be first class.

Just gaining the tournament would represent the biggest success for soccer in Switzerland -- and Austria for that matter -- since the World Cup finals staged by the Swiss almost half a century ago.

FOOTBALLING CRICKETERS

Austrian's golden footballing era was in the 1930s, when Meisl's side ruled European football with top player Matthias Sindelar, known as the "Paper Man" on account of his waif-like yet elegant appearance.

But the sport fell into decline after the annexation of Austria by Adolf Hitler's Third Reich in 1934. Economic hardship took its toll on spectator numbers and many promising players and officials were persecuted because of their Jewish roots.

The team bounced back in the 1950s but Austria have never qualified for the European championship, although they have started the 2004 qualifying programme brightly.

Qualifying for 2004 and hosting 2008 would be the ideal way for Austria to regain much lost esteem.

Switzerland, too, probably need to win the right to stage the event to compete in the finals.

Although Switzerland regularly played in the World Cup from the 1930s until 1966, they have reached the finals only once in the 36 years since then -- and reached the European championship only once in 1996.

A small soccer country with a small top division, Switzerland's teams rarely shine in European competition, although Basel have done well this season to become the first Swiss side to reach the second phase of the Champions League.

The success of Basel is also sparking a revival of fortunes for Koebi Kuhn's national side.

Basel coach Christian Gross has forged a hard-running, attacking team and while they are unlikely to reach the last eight of the competition this season, they have gained respect with excellent performances against Liverpool and Valencia.

Gross said: "We have had a very good year here and so has the full national team. We are certainly raising the profile of Swiss football."

Winning the 2008 bid would do that even more.