Switzerland and Croatia Provide Tournament's First Dud

Group B got underway on Sunday with the Croatians taking on Switzerland in the late afternoon sun in Leiria. Both teams were looking for the first victory which would put them in a good position in a group where England and France are already being talked about as the qualifiers even before those two teams have kicked a ball in competition.

The more physically imposing Croatians made much of the early running as the two teams looked to assert themselves. This assertiveness led to a rash of clumsy challenges which were met with the first two yellow cards of the game before the first five minutes were over, the referee setting his stall out early and showing no sign of being a soft touch as first Switzerland and then Croatia players were cautioned.

Chances came rapidly at both ends as the teams probed each other for weaknesses. First, veteran Swiss striker Stephane Chapuisat aimed a soft header at Tomislav Butina's goal and then Croatia's Dado Prso reciprocated at the other end. Neither attempt was strong enough to break the early deadlock and the ebbing and flowing game continued with attack and counter-attack.

A willingness to test the referee's patience was once again in evidence, a worrisome trait seen in the Spain-Russia game the night before. Dado Prso received the yellow card in the Swiss area after 12 minutes when he went to ground looking for a penalty. Pleading to the heavens, all he got for his acting was a caution and a free-kick awarded against him.

Quickly breaking from the scene of theatrics near their won goal, the Swiss were soon threatening the Croatian keeper. Butina got down well to palm Frei's shot away and the defense chopped the ball to safety before Chapuisat could pounce on the loose ball in front of the empty net.

The half wore on with very little incident as both sides settled into a midfield contest of loss possession and recovery. The business in the middle third of the pitch was only suspended when players dropped to the ground, an event that was becoming increasingly common.

Despite the rut the game seemed to be getting into around the half hour mark, both sides continued to have chances with Bernt Haas having the clearest chance with a glanced header from a Swiss corner that needed more purchase and less delicacy to beat Butina. For Croatia, Tomislav Sokota worked himself some good space but drove his shot straight at Jörg Stiel.

Chapuisat looked to have won a legitimate penalty in the 32nd minute but the referee waved play on. The aggrievance looked to have fired the Swiss who mounted a wave of dangerous attacks in the following five-minute spell. In response, Niko Kovac nearly put Croatia in front with a clear header from a corner which flew just too high over the Swiss cross bar just minutes later.

The second half began in much the same way as the first with tepid attacks moving from one end of the field to the other, punctuated with more yellow cards. The only difference from the opening five minutes of the first period was the sending off of Swiss midfielder Johann Vogel in a bizarre decision by the referee after an innocuous challenge on Niko Kovac.

The flurry of cautions continued as Lucillo Batista looked in danger of spoiling an already staccato match in his seemingly determined quest to book everyone on the pitch. Croatia attacker Mornar was the next to go into the book after diving in the Swiss penalty area.

The game was beginning to suffer from the stop-start nature of the play when the play-acting started to add to the breakdown in rhythm. Hakan Yakin, not a player devoid of talent, was forced into resorting to theatrical posturing when unable to win back the ball, feigning an elbow to the face after clearly being the one fouling his Croatian opponent. Unusually the incident did not prompt the referee to issue any cautions.

The crowd began to turn on the referee and on the players in what was turning out to be the first major dud of the tournament as piercing whistles echoed round the stadium and the hour mark passed.

Things began to liven up when Croatia mounted a number of attacks with Niko Kovac being presented with the best opportunity on 64 minutes only for his volley to fly wide and another Croatian chance went begging. Soon after, a speculative shot from the Croatian half caught Jörg Stiel napping and forced the Swiss keeper to chase the ball towards his empty net as it bounced clear over his head on the edge of the area. The keeper recovered and kept the ball out, to the relief of his compatriots both on and off the pitch.

With 15 minutes to go, ten-man Switzerland looked rejuvenated and were just inches wide from going ahead after a viciously struck low shot from Benjamin Huggel skidded between Butina's legs and past the post.

But the game failed to ignite in the final quarter in much the same way as it had for the rest of the game despite a few good chances falling to both sides in the final 10 minutes. It could be argued that the referee spoiled the game through his penchant for cards and free-kicks but the overwhelming diagnosis would be that, on this performance, neither team will offer much resistance to France and England in the remaining games.

Switzerland: Stiel, Haas, Mueller, Murat Yakin, Spycher, Wicky, Vogel, Huggel, Hakan Yakin, Chapuisat, Frei.

Croatia:

Butina, Simic, Kovac, Simunic, Zivkovic, Mornar, Kovac, Bjelica, Olic, Prso, Sokota.