Frei blow compounds Swiss woe

St. Jakob-Park fell eerily silent shortly after the half-time whistle as Switzerland supporters digested the shock of seeing Alexander Frei limp off in tears moments before the break of the opening game of UEFA EURO 2008™, his left knee heavily strapped and, it later emerged, out of the tournament.

Worst fears
Switzerland's all-time leading scorer had been injured in a challenge with Czech Republic defender Zdeněk Grygera moments earlier and as he trudged despairingly towards the tunnel Nati fans were hurriedly re-evaluating their side's chances in a tournament they entered more in hope than expectation. With their linchpin at the back Patrick Müller still struggling for fitness after his lengthy injury lay-off, and now their captain and talisman Frei off the field, the omens were not good.

Cruel blow
It was a cruel blow for a Swiss side that had done its utmost to buck the trend that opening games are normally tight, cagey affairs. At EURO '96™ they had frustrated England as they held the host nation to a 1-1 draw in the opening game at Wembley. Here they were determined to get their country firmly behind them by taking the game to the Czech Republic from the outset. If the build up to this match had been low key, the atmosphere inside the St. Jakob-Park was anything but as the home fans responded loudly to their side's early pressure. Chants of 'Hopp Schwiiz' and 'Nati' drowned out a sizeable visiting Czech contingent and the sea of red in the stands brought back memories of the tens of thousands which travelled to Germany en masse to support their side at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The will is there, but the luck, it seems, is not.

Momentum
Müller's recovery from a cruciate ligament injury had given Switzerland a huge boost coming into the tournament and a couple of friendly wins had raised morale further. They carried that momentum into the opening fixture, and anticipation rose as Frei flashed a shot wide after two minutes. The home side posed the greatest attacking threat in the first half and they also responded well to Frei's injury after the break, his replacement Hakan Yakin and Tranquillo Barnetta both going close. It was an intriguing contest as two of the tournament's veteran coaches pitted their wits against each other.

Trump card
Both Kuhn and his Czech counterpart Karel Brückner will step down after EURO and as each looks to go out on a high it is Brückner who looks likely to last longest. He had kept his cards close to his chest in the build up to the game, refusing to reveal his side, and it was the ace he played eleven minutes into the second half that eventually turned the game.

Čech save
His surprising decision to replace Jan Koller with Václav Svěrkoš proved inspired when the striker scored on 71 minutes to bring the visiting fans to their feet. Switzerland responded well, Peter Čech saving brilliantly from Barnetta before Johan Vonlanthen struck the bar on the rebound, but their hopes faded with those misses. Perhaps Switzerland can take some consolation from Portugal four years ago. The hosts lost their opening game then as well, but recovered to reach the final. Kuhn will need his luck to change if they are to do the same with Turkey and Portugal to come in Group A.