Spain vs Switzerland, First Half: Spain Dominate, Switzerland Can Only Defend
As soon as the match kicked off, Switzerland eyed for a goal with Barnetta running forward to get to the other end of a through ball. But he was well prevented by his Spanish marker and the Swiss’ attack resulted in nothing too serious.
The Spanish quickly took over at the crowd’s expectations. The game was mainly played from the center of the field to Switzerland’s half. Sergio Ramos contributed in sending the game forward from the right wing; the Swiss couldn’t quite deal with Spain’s flawless passes in midfield. Actually, La Furia Roja looked relaxed although they seemed to find it a bit hard to find a way past Switzerland’s packed defense. So, Swiss’ Blaise NKufo and Barnetta didn’t have much to do upfront. The pair just couldn't get the right balls.
David Silva executed the first shot on goal after a quarter of an hour but Switzerland’s goalkeeper comfortably grabbed the ball. Sergio Ramos selfishly went for glory two minutes later but he awfully lashed his ultimate shot across the end line for a goal kick. From there, the game opened up. Switzerland started to find corridors to dribble forward and push the game from their defensive area to the midfield.
Still, they were confronted by Spain’s invincible strength. 
Two Barcelona men combined for the best chance of the game that had occurred at that point in the game. Inside the 24th minute, Andres Iniesta cleverly sent Gerard Pique through on goal.
The defender was on the verge of replicating the move he made to score against Inter Milan at the Camp Nou back in May. This time, however, Gerard Pique was denied by the legs of Switzerland’s impressive goalkeeper.
There was a narrow opportunity for the Swiss to respond quickly after and Ziegler almost made the most out of it with a powerful strike from a free-kick which Casillas somehow managed to catch. The Spanish were not willing to be the victims of a shock. Andres Iniesta responded with a quick run upfront. The little man had one more defender to beat in the name of Grichting, but after going to the ground, the midfielder was awarded a free-kick which David Villa failed to convert perfectly. Still goalless, with half an hour of the game gone.
Philippe Senderos went off injured after only 35 minutes of play. Steve Von Bergen came in as his substitute. The Swiss started to threaten the Spanish with Barnetta almost getting the better of Carlos Puyol when he carried out a great strike from a tight angle at the right side of the penalty box. After the Spanish survived from their opponents’ threat, Iker Casillas showed his frustration and his misunderstanding of the Jabulani ball through a dreadful goal kick that rolled away for a throw in favor of the Swiss.
As the tempo was rising with a few minutes of regulation time remaining before half time, the Swiss started to read Spain’s progress towards the penalty area better in order to create good interceptions. This helped them hang on to a clean sheet and head into the dressing rooms with a 0-0 result at half time.
Spain vs Switzerland, Second Half: The Swiss Make History
Who would have imagined that the second half would have opened with Gelson Fernandes' 52nd minute goal stunning Spain’s defense? It was a long searching ball from Switzerland’s goalkeeper that initiated the Swiss’ rapid attack. Once put clear on goal, Derdiyok was strongly tackled by Iker Casillas.
The goalkeeper would have certainly deserved a red card for his reckless kick on the player’s legs but as Gelson Fernandes was following the action in the box, the referee let play continue. Gerard Pique fell into confusion with his keeper, while Switzerland’s number 10 perfectly drove the ball at the back of the net. 1-0 to Switzerland; real shock!
So are favorites Spain real contenders or pretenders? The 2008 European Champions wanted to prove their point by getting back into this game. Andres Iniesta, who was putting up a Man of the Match performance, set up David Villa for a shot three minutes later but the Barcelona player did nothing more than shooting straight at the alert Swiss goalkeeper.
On the hour mark, David Villa again was put through on goal but the Swiss survived their opponents’ challenge. Fernando Torres and Jesus Navas entered the battle. Spain’s mission was to win within the last 30 minutes of the encounter. And did they manage to do that?
Torres injected some much need power for the Spanish upfront. David Villa squared a nice ball to the Liverpool man inside the 67 minute. Disappointingly, Fernando Torres couldn’t control the ball and he let the opportunity of being one-on-one with the keeper go missing by. Spain came back one more time with Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso smashing a shot from 25 yards out against the crossbar. Switzerland could breathe again. There was danger one more time as Jesus Navas exploded forward before driving a nervous shot into the hands of Switzerland’s keeper.
Fifteen minutes from time, Derdiyok was on the brink of making it 2-0 for the Swiss. The striker was unchallenged as he ran towards the penalty box. At Spain’s relief, his shot crashed against the foot of the post before defenders cleared the danger away. In fact, Iker Casillas was nowhere near Derdiyok's ball.
Coach Vicente del Bosque played his last card by sending Barcelona’s young striker Pedro as the Spanish were in search of an equalizer. Spain’s idea was to multiply the attacks, but as they were adventurous upfront, they also left many holes at the back for the Swiss to occasionally torment them on the counter attack. The Spanish were fortunate that Switzerland’s attackers lacked of flair.
The message board inscribed as much as 5 minutes of added time. The opportunity was there for Spain to clinch a late, late goal.
But after Xavi splashed a 95
th minute shot up in the stands, it was clear that all hopes were gone for the 2008 European Champions to create any miracle.
At the referee’s final whistle, Switzerland emerged 1-0 winners – only to remind European elites Spain that Africa’s soil wasn’t theirs. For the second time in South Africa, and the second time in the last few years, Spain had lost a match.
Switzerland and Chile occupy the top spot in Group H. Spain and Honduras share the place at the bottom.
Switzerland will be looking forward to creating more history by reaching the last 16 of the tournament, while Spain will be working to bounce back against attacking-minded sides Honduras and Chile. Will Group H produce more surprises?
