Swiss go top as Togo bow out
Togo are out of contention in their debut World Cup Finals after they lost 2-0 to Switzerland at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund.
The Swiss go equal top of Group G with South Korea, but France are just two points behind them ahead of the last two group matches on Friday.
Rennes striker Alexander Frei scored in the 16th minute for the Swiss, with left back Ludovic Magnin sending a cross over for forward Tranquillo Barnetta to knock down into the path of Frei who gave Togolese keeper Kossi Agassa no chance.
Then late in the match, Barnetta scored a goal of his own to seal the match for the Swiss when the ball found him unmarked to the right of goal, the Bayer Leverkusen player hitting a well struck shot past Agassa and into the back of the net.
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Togo had been trying hard to find the equaliser, but were put out of their misery and out of the tournament when the second Swiss goal hit the back of the net.
Barnetta almost scored earlier in the match when he hit a left foot shot from the top of the box in the 51st minute which was saved by keeper Agassa.
In the 53rd minute, halftime substitute Hakan Yakin struck a shot that swung outside the post, and in the 64th minute the Young Boys striker had an even better chance when one-on-one with Agassa but the Metz shot stopper saved well.
In the first half, Mohamed Kader, first ever World Cup goal scorer for Togo, had a shot on goal in the 6th minute which was saved by Swiss keeper Pascal Zuberbuhler.
In the 27th minute Kader danced through the Swiss defence and put another shot in, but again straight at Zuberbuhler, while Valenciennes midfielder Thomas Dossevi struck a shot wide of goal for Togo not long after.
The Africans had a great chance to level in the 37th minute, and surely would have if not for a last ditch sliding interception by Swiss defender Patrick Mueller, denying busy striker Kader a free shot on goal.
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Otto Pfister’s men also had a claim for a penalty when Arsenal forward Emmanuel Adebayor seemed to be brought down in the box by Mueller, but Paraguayan referee Carlos Amarilla waved the claim away suggesting there had been little contact.
The Africans have one last match on the world stage, against France in Cologne on Friday 23rd June with the French needing to win the match in order to have any chance of progressing to the next round.
Meanwhile, Switzerland face fellow group leaders South Korea in Hanover also on Friday in what will be an interesting clash for both teams who are equal on points, but with the Swiss holding the advantage with a better goal difference by one.