Switzerland 4 Wales 1: Wales fight all the way but Stocker undermines their hopes

Brian Flynn's side performed creditably for most of a pulsating contest at Basle's St Jakob Park but Gokhan Inler's penalty and Stocker's second strike finished them off in the final eight minutes.

Gareth Bale was a constant threat to the Swiss and cancelled out an early goal by Stocker after 13 minutes but the hosts soon reclaimed a lead they did not subsequently surrender through Marco Streller.

It made for a miserable 55th birthday for Flynn who, in his second and final match as caretaker manager, was hoping to prove his suitability for the job full time.

He now faces an anxious wait while Wales, whose qualification hopes were already in tatters, must now accept their long wait to reach a major tournament goes on.

For much of the game they had threatened to at least get themselves up and running in the campaign after losses to Montenegro and Bulgaria.

They attacked at every opportunity and in Bale had a man who worried the Swiss, but defensive mistakes proved their undoing.

Italy's Euro 2012 Group C qualifier against Serbia was abandoned last night due to crowd disturbances after just six minutes.

The game in Genoa was delayed for 35 minutes after a section of Serbian fans threw fire crackers and flares in the direction of the north stand, where Italian supporters were seated, and onto the pitch.

Serbian players, led by Inter Milan midfielder Dejan Stankovic, urged their fans to calm down as spectators began to make their way towards the exit.

Once order was restored, a minute's silence was observed in memory of four Italian soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Saturday.

The game started but it was not long before Scottish referee Craig Thomson stopped play after a Serbian fan threw a flare onto the pitch, which narrowly missed Italy goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano.