What know one really wanted to say entering this game...This is a decent Swiss side and World Cup tournaments often bring massive upsets against the tournament favorites. With their 1-0 victory over Spain today in Durban, Switzerland becomes only the second team to defeat the reining European Champions in the last three years.
How did they do it?
With a style similar to the way the U.S. defeated La Furia Roja last June... The reality is that few teams could earn points against a star-studded Spanish squad if they didn't employ a counter-attacking, "bend but don't break" approach. The team is just too good to play any other way.
Credit to Switzerland for remaining composed, staying organized and picking the right times to go forward.
Their goal came with a quick break off a goal kick, finding Spain asleep at the wheel, resulting in a miscue between the backline and goalkeeper Iker Casillas which Swiss midfielder Gelson Fernandes pounced on from close range in the 52nd minute.
Spain responded by bombarding Diego Benaglio's goal, totaling 24 shots, hitting the woodwork twice and forcing the Swiss keeper to make eight saves for the clean sheet.
Nevermind the way Switzerland played, if you watched this game and were bored, you'll never find soccer entertaining. This is the type of result that makes the World Cup so unique, but both teams now have work to do.
Spain will go back to the drawing board and may take out their frustration on lowly Honduras next Monday in Johannesburg, while joint Group H leaders Switzerland and Chile will do battle in Port Elizabeth. For Chile, that match is absolutely vital as they would have expected the Spanish to take care of business today.
Now that all 32 teams have opened their 2010 World Cup account, make sure to head to the Globe Pub (1934 W. Irving Park Rd.) today for the Uruguay-South Africa match and the beginning of the second lap for all World Cup participants. Fire midfielders John Thorrington and Logan Pause will be participating in an online chat via CSNChicago.com during the game and guest bartending from 3:30-4:30 immediately following the match, with all tips going to benefit the Chicago Fire Foundation!
