Switzerland caused the biggest shock of the World Cup so far with a 1-0 win over pre-tournament favourites Spain in Group H in Durban.

Switzerland has never beaten Spain in its past 18 attempts, managing only three draws.

Fernandes, the midfielder of France's Saint-Etienne, stunned the spectators in the 52nd minute when a long ball was flicked back by Eren Derdiyok like a blitz.

The move lured Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas to charge forward. The wrong timing of Casillas left Barcelona's defender Gerard Pique to clear the threat and made the man finally fall down almost between the posts, enabling Fernandes to slot it into the empty net.

The feat put a sudden end to La Roja's run of 12 consecutive wins as they had been approaching their best series of 15 wins which was abruptly stopped by the United States in the Confederations Cup semifinal last year.

Moreover, the victory also cut Spain's 37-match unbeaten streak against European opposition. They have won 34 and drawn three since losing against Romania in November 2006, according to official statistics.

Spain triggered its campaign to triumph with smart passing game in the first half, enjoying comfortable possession and the domination in the midfield.

Valencia striker David Silva fired the first shot of the match in the 7th minute, but goalkeeper Diego Benagolio cleared the danger brought by the tame efforts.

A more threatening attack came seven minutes later as Pique diverted the attention of Swiss defenders and gave a powerful thrust before the net.

The nice dance, however, led the ball into the grip of Benagolio again.Although La Roja mounted continuous pressure, the men of Ottmar Hitzfeld held their defense tight.

The fist half ended with a goalless draw. The goal of Fernandes boosted the morale of Switzerland to a peak after the interval, forcing Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque to put talented core Fernando Torres back to the court as a substitute.

Torres and Cesc Fabregas, both having shaken off worrying late season injuries, did not appear in the starting list. Torres infused new impetus to Spaniards for goal but the time was running quickly.

Xabi Alonso's right-foot shot made the ball just fly off the crossbar in the 70th minute. On the other side, Derdiyok almost extended the lead of Switzerland again four minutes later by shuttling neatly among the defenders. His shot was only blocked by the post, raising the atmosphere in the Durban Stadium to a boiling point.

It was the 50th match of La Roja at the FIFA World Cup. Spain became the seventh team to reach this milestone after Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, England and France.

Spaniards have to collect points in their next group match against Honduras on June 21 in Johannesburg while Switzerland will play Chile on the same day in Nelson Mandela Bay. Chile defeated Honduras 1-0 in an earlier group match on Wednesday.