Nine days after they shocked the world against Spain, Switzerland limped out of the World Cup against on Honduras on Friday in Manguang.
Needing at least a two-goal win in their Group H finale to overcome a goal differential tiebreaker with Chile, the Swiss never found the back of the net against their CONCACAF foes and settled for a scoreless draw that eliminated them from reaching the round of 16.
The result was a far cry from how the Swiss started in South Africa, with a 1-0 win over Spain on June 16 that was arguably the biggest upset of the group stage.
But instead of building on that monumental win, the wheels fell off. They lost to Chile 1-0 in their second group matchup, and never found the final touch against a Honduras team most considered to be lucky to be in the World Cup at all.
For Honduras, the result was a positive ending to their first World Cup bid since their debut in 1982. Los Catrachos actually could have advanced with a decisive win over the Swiss and some help from Spain against the Chileans, but instead they battled for a respectable draw against a round of 16 World Cup qualifier from 2006.
All MLS eyes fell on Swiss forward Blaise Nkufo, who is now set to join Seattle Sounders FC when the MLS transfer window opens July 15. Nkufo threatened periodically but never seriously before he was subbed out for Swiss football mainstay Alexander Frei in the 69th minute.
Honduras’ best scoring chance came in the 71st minute, but Edgar Alvarez’ breakaway attempt was swatted wide by Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.
Kansas City Wizards midfielder Roger Espinoza failed to see any time for Honduras, while 34 year-old former MLS league MVP Amado Guevara also never got off the bench in what could have been his last match for Honduras in a major international competition.
LINEUPS
SWITZERLAND: Benaglio, Grichting, von Bergen, Ziegler, Lichtsteiner, Inler, Huggel (Shaqiri, 78’), Fernandes (Yakin, 45’), Barnetta, Nkufo (Frei, 69’), Derdiyok
HONDURAS: Valladares, Bernardez, Chavez, Figueroa, Sabillón, Thomas, Palacios, Núñez (Martinez, 67’), Alvarez, Suazo (Turcios, 87’), Palacios (Welcome, 78’)
