Swiss win opens up Group G

Dortmund: Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn deployed three second half World Cup substitutes to devastating effect on Monday and then sought to downplay talk of his tactical astuteness.

Leading 1-0 against Togo at halftime but needing a second goal to take the lead in Group G, Kuhn brought on attacking midfielder Hakan Yakin before introducing strikers Marco Streller and Mauro Lustrinelli late on.

Lustrinelli had been on the pitch for just one minute when he passed to midfielder Tranquillo Barnetta, who promptly fired the ball into the net with two minutes remaining.

"The reasons for the substitutions were all quite simple," Kuhn later insisted.

"Firstly I brought Yakin on because Daniel Gygax had picked up a hip injury, and then with the strikers we had already decided to throw everything forward if we didn't have that second goal by the last 15 minutes."

"It didn't actually matter if we had let in a goal at that point because drawing 1-1 or winning 1-0 would have had the same effect -- either way we would have had to beat South Korea in our final game."

Because of Monday's two-goal winning margin, Kuhn's men must instead only achieve a draw against the South Koreans to guarantee their progress into the second round.

"The second goal has completely changed the scope of things for our match against Korea," Kuhn added. "We know a draw will be enough but we still want to win."

If Switzerland do manage to beat South Korea they would automatically earn top spot in the group, while former world champions France would only be able to scrape into second place with a win over Togo.

As things stand, that would likely see Switzerland taking on Ukraine while the French would be thrown into a demanding clash against Spain.

South Korea could still upset the equation with a win over the Swiss enough to guarantee their progress.

"It's definitely an advantage for us now that we don't have to beat South Korea," said Yakin who completed a comeback from injury on Monday with his first competitive international appearance in nine months.

"It could also be dangerous though because the Koreans need to win. It's no good us playing for a draw because we saw (during South Korea's 1-1 draw with France) how dangerous they can be in the last 10 minutes."

Having finally shown some bite up front after their lacklustre goal-less draw with France, Switzerland could also take pride in another generally impressive display at the back.

Prior to their arrival in Germany, the Swiss had managed the abysmal feat of going 22 World Cup matches without a single clean sheet.

Now suddenly they have managed two in a row, and know that a third will be enough to send them through to the final 16.

"We know that we have to keep a nil at the back and everything else will come," Barnetta said after easing Switzerland's nerves with his beautifully struck late goal.

"A draw will do of course, but we will now try all we can to win this group."