Group G
Switzerland 2, Togo 0Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta scored a goal each yesterday to lead Switzerland to a 2-0 win over Togo in Group G.
Frei gave the Swiss team the lead in the 16th minute, heading in a pass from Barnetta. In the 88th, Barnetta added another with a 17m shot off a pass from Mauro Lustrinelli.
Frei missed a chance to score another goal in front of an open net early in the second half.
The win has boosted Switzerland's chances of reaching the second round. The team is tied with South Korea at the top of Group G with four points each. France is next with two points while Togo, which has been eliminated, has zero.
Switzerland is playing at the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. Togo is making its first appearance at the tournament.
The Swiss staged a much faster, more attacking game than their 0-0 draw against France and could have won by a bigger margin.
Togo struggled without its suspended captain Jean-Paul Abalo, who got two yellow cards in the first match, and injured defender Ludovic Assemoassa.
Still, forwards Emmanuel Adebayor and Mohamed Kader launched repeated surprise attacks against the Swiss defense but failed to finish when it mattered.
Westfalen Stadium resembled a mini-Switzerland, echoing to roars of "Hopp Schweiz."
The sea of red and white at the sold-out 65,000 seat stadium was punctuated by a tiny corner of drumming Togolese fans clad in the yellow and green of the national flag.
The African team came into the match after a bruising row over pay. Togo had threatened to boycott over player bonuses, but finally settled its dispute with the soccer federation a day before the match.
Earlier, Togo coach Otto Pfister had quit but returned hours before his team played South Korea in its opening match.
Full report in tomorrow's edition of the Taipei Times.
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