Spain 0 Switzerland 1: Fancied Spain are floored as Swiss roll them over

Despite the Spaniards dominating possession, the Swiss took a surprise lead in the 52nd minute with Gelson 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 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.

Spain went into the contest considered favourites to win the World Cup in South Africa and were buoyed when Barcelona's Andres Iniesta passed a late fitness test to start in midfield.

Iniesta 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's header from a corner went over the bar.

Two minutes later, Spain made a double substitution with Fernando Torres and Jesus Navas entering the fray and Spain should have restored parity 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.

Spain were then unlucky not to equalise with Alonso seeing his 25-yard piledriver of a shot hit the woodwork, while at the other end Derdiyok got past Pique and Puyol before seeing his close-range effort cannon off the far post.

A clearly irritated Del Bosque afterwards saluted Switzerland for their solid work in defence but insisted Ottmar Hitzfeld's side did not deserve their victory.

"They played a defensive game and tried to take advantage of any counter-attack and dead-ball situation," said Del Bosque.

"I feel it's an excessive prize for them considering the football they displayed. They did play well in defence. We came for the win and this time it escaped us.

"Our football is not just to have ball possession but also find depth in our play.

"We had opportunities especially in the first half to have resolved the game.

"It's not a good sign we send to our rivals. But we have to hit back and try to win our next two group games."

Hitzfeld, meanwhile, was all smiles after his team claimed their first win over Spain and showered his team with praise.

"I am fully aware that we have made history," he said. "This will go down in the record books.

"The three points is a gift that we happily accept. It's a great feeling to start the tournament with three points against one of the biggest contenders for the title. These were three very unexpected points for us."

In response to his opposit number's remarks, Hitzfeld made no apologies for his side's tactics.

"We wanted to focus on our defence and wait for the counter attack," he added. "We concentrated and were organised from the start.

"If you want to play an attacking game against Spain you would lose by a big margin."