Full-time - 90'
Spain
0 - 1
Switzerland
Group H, 14:00 GMT, June 16, 2010

Durban Stadium

Gelson Fernandes' scrappy second-half goal gave Switzerland a shock 1-0 victory over World Cup favourites Spain in their Group H opener in Durban.


MATCH SUMMARY

Man of the Match: Stephan Lichtsteiner - The Lazio defender epitomised everything about this organised, outstanding Switzerland display. Throwing himself in front of everything - none more so than his excellent diving header to clear a corner in injury time - Lichtsteiner was a rock.

Spain verdict:Without doubt Spain were brilliant, playing with style and the kind of attacking pace we have seldom seem so far at this World Cup. They would surely have won just about any other match. That doesn't change the result, one which puts them in serious danger of finishing no better than second in the group and a much-feared date with Brazil in the second round. Spain v Chile on the final group day now looks huge.

Switzerland verdict: Yes, Spain were good, but Switzerland produced an outstanding defensive performance to keep out one of the most complete attacking line-ups in the World. The Swiss, with Honduras and Chile still to play, appear almost certain to go through now and after this display they will deserve it. Superb.

Could do better: David Villa. He fluffed his lines in the first half and then seemed off the pace after that. While he is used to playing as the lone striker in international football, he looked lost at the Durban Stadium. The top scorer at Euro 2008 will have to find his scoring boots to dig Spain out of this hole.

Stat attack: Spain created more chances on goal (25) without scoring than any other team in this World Cup.

Despite the Spaniards dominating possession, the Swiss took a surprise lead in the 52nd minute with Fernandes firing past goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Spain's Xabi Alonso was denied by the crossbar in the 71st minute as his team wasted a hatful of chances to restore parity.

Switzerland's Eren Derdiyok struck the far post in the 75th minute but his hard-working team held on for an historic win against the European champions in front of 62,000 spectators at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The Swiss assured themselves of victory with an efficient performance that relied on making the most of their limited chances.

Andres Iniesta passed a late fitness test and started in Spain's midfield line. The Barcelona midfielder was the driving force behind Spain's play while David Villa, in the role of lone striker, was a non-factor in the opening half.

The Swiss were forced to play in their own half by a Spain side that controlled the tempo from the start.

The Spaniards came closest to scoring, with Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio brilliantly denying Gerard Pique's close-range effort from Iniesta's pass midway through the first half. At the other end, Reto Ziegler's free-kick forced Casillas to dive to his left to clear.

With 10 minutes to go before half-time, the Swiss suffered a setback with Steve Von Bergen replacing an injured Philippe Senderos.

Spain had the opportunity to break the deadlock on the stroke of half-time but Villa's cross-cum-shot from inside the area went wide.

Vincente Del Bosque's team picked up where they left off after the re-start and Alonso's strike took a deflection off a defender and went over the bar. Shortly after, Silva fired wide as another opportunity was not taken advantage of by Spain.

They were made to pay for their missed chances as Switzerland broke the deadlock soon after.

Derdiyok's pass was cleared by Casillas but the ball fell to Fernandes, whose first shot was stopped by Pique but he made no mistake at firing home from close range at the second attempt.

Spain reacted and on the hour mark, Sergio Ramos' header from a corner went over the bar. Two minutes later, Spain made a double substitution with Fernando Torres and Jesus Navas entering the pitch.

Spain should have equalised in the 67th minute. A fast counter-attack by the Spaniards saw Villa serve Torres but his curled effort went over the bar. Shortly after, Benaglio made a great save from Torres' strike.

Spain were then unlucky not to equalise with Alonso seeing his 25-yard drive hit the woodwork. Seconds later, Matas surged inside the area and fired straight into Benaglio's arms.

At the other end, Derdiyok got past Pique and Puyol before seeing his close-range effort hit the far post.

The Swiss held on as the Spanish players left the pitch stunned.