A Swiss mess for Spain shakes up the tournament

It took until the last game of the first round of group matches but the 2010 FIFA World Cup finally delivered a shocker today when Switzerland, a 16:1 underdog in European betting shops, handed Spain a 1-0 stunner in Group H in Durban, South Africa.

Spain was one of the two pre-tourney favorites, along with Brazil, but no team has ever lost its first game and went on to win the World Cup.

Switzerland doesn't have one player at any position who'd see the field for Spain, the 2008 European champion who came 33-1 in its last 34 competitive games (the loss to the U.S. in the 2009 Confederations Cup).

But the Swiss deployed a dense and difficult-to-crack defense that turned Spain's elegant high-scoring passing attack into an impotent pass-pass-pass-with-no-result popgun.

Meanwhile Swiss manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, known as "The General", earned that nickname by refusing to open up attacks on the Spain defense that would have left his side open. He patiently waited for openings and when a long goal kick fell awkwardly and Gelson Fernandes pounced. Pretty soccer it was not; Hitzfeld couldn't have cared less.

The Spanish loss creates the very real possibility of Spain playing Brazil in the second round June 28 rather than the July 11 final and could help land Italy in the semifinals.

Elsewhere, Chile handled a hapless Honduras squad 1-0 in Group H and in the first of the second round of group games, a classy and deadly Uruguay may have ended South Africa's hopes of advancing with a 3-0 win that likely means the hosts will have to defeat France June 22 by a decisive margin to advance.