Euro 2008 has got off to an encouraging start. These two teams are far from the strongest in the competition and were never going to produce a spectacle of tip-top quality. But they did at least show offensive enterprise and scant negativity - and for that we must hope it's an indication of things to come.
Switzerland were particularly pleasing. Full of zest and adventure, they were unfortunate to lose. It may be nothing special for a host nation to attempt to play with verve and flair in a match their buoyant fans have long looked forward to and which, moreover, probably represented their best chance of getting three points, but Switzerland were not always so bold. For most of the post-war years their play was marked by a timidity borne of an inferiority complex, notably towards Germany. As Swiss writer Simon Meier put it, they used to play with "all the audacity of a hedgehog".
Funnily enough it was a German, Uli Stieleke, who first convinced them to shed their timidity. And after he narrowly failed to guide them to Euro 92, an Englishman arrived to provide a head that would complement their new-found heart: Roy Hodgson was the manager who scrapped the Swiss sweeper and got the nation playing with a zonal defence and a buccaneering 4-4-2 system. So there you go England, at least you can say your country contributed something to this tournament.
They may be brittle and therefore unlikely to overly trouble Portugal or Turkey, but tonight the Swiss also showed they can be fast, confident and cutting. The Czechs, by contrast, were ponderous. They clearly began with the intention of bombarding the suspect centre of the Swiss defence - Marek Jankulowski launching a long ball to Jan Koller after just five seconds - but when it transpired that (a) the Swiss had that pretty much sussed and (b) the stodgy Czech midfield couldn't provide support quickly enough, they petered out into a pedestrian outfit that must have made their fans nostalgic for Pavel Nedved and Karel Poborsky. Not that their thousands of fans showed it, mind: after a full day of drinking they cheered and chanted throughout.
As the game progressed Switzerland became even more convinced that speed was the key to their potential victory and they cranked up the tempo in the second half, zipping the ball around gamely. It seemed that Vaclav Sverklos's introduction for Koller would serve only to underline the poverty of the Czechs' original ploy, but as it turned out his arrival had less apposite significance.
His goal was the definitive sucker punch. On a night when Johan Vonlanthen crashed a would-be equaliser against the bar from 10 yards and poor Alex Frei - just returned after eight months out through injury - suffered a knee injury that, if the tears that gushed form his face as he hobbled towards the dressing room were anything to go by, has terminated his tournament, the hosts were decidedly unlucky. But they were deservedly applauded off by a fair and passionate crowd, and, by their attitude at least, the Swiss have hopefully set the tone for these championships.
