Halftime report Switzerland vs. France
Coimbra City, Portugal (Sports Network) - Switzerland went into the locker room tied at 1-1 with heavily favored France in a Group B matchup at Coimbra Stadium.
Switzerland's 18-year-old striker Johan Vonlanthen became the youngest player ever to score in the European Championship when he struck in the 26th minute of the contest to even the score. Vonlanthen, who made his first start in the competition in place of the suspended Alexander Frei, took a crafty pass from Ricardo Cabanas and slid the ball past French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez.
The Swiss are looking to keep their slim hopes of advancing alive. France, meanwhile, also needs some help in order to secure a spot in the quarterfinals. A win or a tie would guarantee the tournament favorites a place in the knockout phase.
France controlled the ball for a majority of the first 45 minutes, but seemed to somehow still allow Switzerland some quality scoring chances.
The Swiss probably produced the best opportunity in the opening 15 minutes when they earned a free kick just outside area. Hakan Yakin sent a wonderful attempt towards the net that French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez just barely deflected out of danger.
Just minutes later as France continued to apply pressure, Robert Pires' corner kick found the head of Zinedine Zidane. The new French captain, with Marcel Desailly on the substitutes bench, headed it past the Swiss goalkeeper in the 20th minute to give the favorites a 1-0 lead.
French coach Jacques Santini made wholesale changes to the lineup that struggled to a 2-2 draw to Croatia in its last outing. Desailly, William Gallas, Olivier Dacourt and Sylvain Wiltord were all kept on the bench at the start of the contest for France. Willy Sagnol, Bixente Lizarazu, Mikael Silvestre, Claude Makelele and Robert Pires were all chosen in the starting 11 for France and appeared to pay off as they produced countless scoring chances. Finishes, though, were hard to find.
Switzerland is without Frei, its top striker, after he was held out of the match for spitting on England's Steven Gerrard in a contest last week. Frei was later given a 15-day suspension. Jakob Kuhn's side also had to replace three players who are unavailable due to yellow card suspensions.
06/21 15:35:09 ET
