A surprise 1-0 victory over European champions and Group H rivals Spain seemed the perfect way to begin a World Cup campaign and a place in the last 16 suddenly looked attainable with games against Chile and minnows Honduras to come.
In reality, it was a false dawn. Ottmar Hitzfeld's Swiss side had defended astutely against Spain but their unlikely winner was a lucky sucker punch that rose their country's ambitions way beyond the squad's means.
It was not to be. With captain and record scorer Alex Frei on the bench, the 28,042 fans at Bloemfontein's Free State stadium saw a 0-0 stalemate in which an improved Honduras often outplayed a nervous Swiss side bereft of ideas.
"We had great ambitions for this match. It was too much of a burden for them and it got more during the game," Hitzfeld told reporters after the result saw Spain and Chile advance from the group.
"We were lucky Honduras failed to finish their counter-attack properly," he added.
Swiss media were baffled by their team's tournament slide.
"We are very disappointed, not just me, the players, everybody," Hitzfeld said. "We failed to deliver because we had too much pressure. We had to score twice."
