WC2010 review: Switzerland

A shock first-up win over tournament favourites Spain have hope to the Swiss that they could progress far in the 2010 tournament.

They notched up a record for most minutes in World Cup finals history without conceding a goal during the Chile loss and were then toothless in a must-win match against Honduras which ended their time in the competition.

After such a positive start, it was disappointing that the Switzerland side fell away so quickly and only manage to score one goal which was touched on by defender Stephan Lichtsteiner.

"We never stopped running, but it didn't produce anything. You can't expect to go any further if you only score once in three games,” Lichtsteiner told FIFA.com. "We produced a lot of crosses and tried a few set plays. Usually we score regularly from corners and free-kicks."

Finished: 18th
Record: Wins – 1; Draws – 1; Losses – 1; Points – 4
Matches: Spain (1-0), Chile (0-1), Honduras (0-0)
Goals: 1
Against: 1

tribalfootball.com’s Star Man
Stephane Grichting (The veteran defender was a powerhouse in the back-half, leading the way for the Swiss)

Official statistics

Minutes played
Reto Ziegler 270
Gokhan Inler 270
Diego Benaglio 270
Stephan Lichtsteiner 270
Stephane Grichting 270

Top scorers
Gelson Fernandes 1

Total shots
Eren Derdiyok 5
Hakan Yakin 5
Tranquillo Barnetta 4

Pass Completion Rate
Benjamin Huggel 81%
Reto Ziegler 78%
Gokhan Inler 75%
Stephane Grichting 74%

Most Fouls
Gokhan Inler 12
Stephane Grichting 7
Stephan Lichtsteiner 6
Benjamin Huggel 5
Blaise Nkufo 5

Yellow cards
Diego Benaglio 1
Reto Ziegler 1
Hakan Yakin 1
Gelson Fernandes 1
Tranquillo Barnetta 1
Blaise Nkufo 1
Stephane Grichting 1
Gokhan Inler 1

Red cards
Valon Behrami 1

Saves
Diego Benaglio 15