Well that put the cat among the pigeons!

Boring, dier, defensive, slow paced, lacking flair and a goal drought, that was until Gelson Fernandes and his Swiss counterparts made their presence known in South Africa with a stunning result. Yesterday I spent most of the preview talking up Spain and I have to be honest I was fairly certain they would beat Switzerland and comfortably. Today I am eating humble pie and a group that was looking like a foregone conclusion has become intriguing. What I had not accounted for was just how disciplined the Swiss players were and what a tactical mastermind Ottmar Hitzfeld really is. He set up Switzerland with a plan and they followed it to a tee.

This plan was born in the Nou Camp on the 28th April when Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan beat Barcelona with one of the best defensive displays in recent memory. Switzerland allowed Spain to have the ball for most of the game, but Spain only had the ball in areas that could not seriously hurt the Swiss. For all of Spain's triangles and neat passing they lacked a cutting edge and were one dimensional until Jesus Navvas was introduced. In the first half Spain continued to go down the left flank seeking out David Silva, this became all too predicable and without the physical presence of Llorente or Torres Silva's crosses were too easy to defend.

Switzerland's goal came with a huge slice of luck but did back up a popular opinion with Spain. Iker Casillas is not the player that he used to be. Why Casillas came rushing out with his feet rather than his hands is beyond me and i'm sure Gerrard Pique is none too pleased either.

Switzerland's discipline was truly admirable and although it may not have been a performance full of flair or attacking intent it was gripping and produced the best game of the tournament so far.

The early kick off was also an improvement on what had gone before. It was so refreshing to see a team go out to win and win in style. I was hugely impressed with what Chile produced in a great display of attacking vision. Bielsa's side used the width of the pitch and got behind the Hondurian defence with ease and it was this approach that led to the only goal of the game. Alexis Sanchez did not disappoint although he needs to pass more often as his flicks came to nothing too often. The real star of the show for me was the playmaker number 14 Fernandez. Fernandez ran the game for Chile driving them forward and playing with vision that another famous old number 14 would have been proud of. Chile were refreshing to watch and will be dangerous and could be dark horses for the latter stages.

Finally I have to give the last word to one Diego Forlan who was unstoppable against the hosts South Africa. Forlan produced the performance of the tournament so far, a great first goal (no problem with the ball there!) a calmly taken penalty and one of the passes of the game to set up a third goal. Uruguay brutally exposed the limitations of South Africa and showed that unfortunately the first game was a one off performance. South Africa will be the first host nation to not get out of the group stage and the tournament will be poorer for it. That is not to take away from a Uruguayan performance that was full of guile, grit and South American flair.

The World Cup is only going to get better from here in, trust me. Thank you Chile and Switzerland for giving us the impetus that this tournament needed. Forlan has had a brilliant day but for me the star of the show today was Ottmar Hitzfeld and his Mourinho like defence. Catenaccio!

Laurie O'Brien