Switzerland pulled off a shock victory at the World Cup Wednesday, beating European champion Spain 1-0 in their opening group match. Gelson Fernandes bundled the ball into the net in the 52nd minute in one of Switzerland's few attacks, ending Spain's 12-match winning streak and handing the Spanish team only its second loss in 50 games. “Today wasn't our day,” Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. “We have two games ahead of us. We have to find a way to win them.” Spain, one of the pre-tournament favorites, dominated possession throughout the match, but could find no way through Switzerland's determined defense. “We had plenty of chances but they defended very well,” Spain defender Gerard Pique said. Eren Derdiyok created Switzerland's goal by surging through the center of Spain's defense and getting around goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Gerard Pique's tackle stopped Derdiyok, but Fernandes pounced on the loose ball and forced it into the net. “To be fair, I'm not used to scoring goals, so I was a bit surprised,” Fernandes said. “It was a bit of luck.” At the final whistle, Fernandes fell to his knees and raised both arms to the sky. The entire team then went to the small section of Swiss fans at the Moses Mabhida Stadium and saluted them as they cheered and rang cow bells. “These were three unexpected points,” Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said, before defending his side's defensive play as the only way to nullify Spain. History was not on Spain's side: Only two of the last eight reigning European champions had won their opening match at the World Cup – France in 1986 and Germany in 1998. And Spain has not advanced past the World Cup quarterfinals since its best finish of fourth in 1950. Derdiyok nearly doubled the Swiss lead in the 75th minute when he shrugged off Carlos Puyol's tackle and poked the ball past Casillas, but the shot hit the post. Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso came closest to equalizing when his powerful drive in the 70th minute hit the cross bar. “It was a match we tried to play without abandoning our style,” Del Bosque said. “We tried to play heroically and they fell back and tried to stop us.” Spain had 63 percent of possession, and had eight shots on goal to Switzerland's three. But when Spain did find the target, they encountered Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio, who made a string of saves. “He's a world class keeper with one-on-one situations,” Hitzfeld said.
