Swiss suffer heartbreaking opener

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Not only did the Swiss lose a Group A match they dominated for large parts at the St Jakob-Park, they also may have lost talismanic striker Alexander Frei for the rest of the competition after he went off injured at the end of the first half.

Frei, the nation's torchbearer when it comes to their football team, was crying as he hobbled off with a knee injury in the 44th minute.

And many of the home team's fans will have done just the same when Banik Ostrava's Sverkos, the top scorer in the Czech top flight this season with 15 goals, poked home a scarcely deserved winner in the 70th minute.

What the defeat, and more importantly Frei's injury, will do to the Swiss remains to be seen, but they already face an uphill struggle to qualify from a group that also includes Turkey and Portugal, one of the favourites for the title.

A colourful, 13-minute opening ceremony - featuring 976 performers and with modern pixel art as its inspiration - preceded the match and ended in spectacular fashion with 900 pyrotechnic shots fired into the sky.