The reigning European Champions and nailed on favourites Spain, humbled by the lowly Swiss. Who’d have thought? In all probability, no-one, yet that is precisely what happened on Day Six to provide us with the biggest shock of the tournament so far.

Spain didn’t play too badly either, they enjoyed much of the possession, put together some wonderful moves and were far more positive than their opponents. Yet their strike force was blunted by a well-drilled, committed Switzerland. It was a case of substance winning over style.

Spain will no doubt qualify from this group regardless but if ever there was a wake up call this was it. 67% of possession is impressive, but without a final product it’s pointless. 22 shots on goal, yes, but most of them tame or off target. 12 corners won and wasted through poor delivery.

For fans of defence this was a joy to behold as the Swiss repelled wave after wave of Spanish attacks, especially as the second half wore on and Spain tried to recover from going a goal behind.

Don’t be fooled into thinking defending was all the Swiss had to offer though. Their 52nd minute goal may have been a scrambled effort finally put in by former Manchester City striker Gelson Fernandez, but they could have gone 2-0 up in much better fashion when Derdiyok cut inside the very impressive Pique, past Puyol and flicked his shot passed Casillas, only to see it come back off the post.

The introduction of the clearly unfit Fernando Torres showed how desperate Spain were getting but even he couldn’t find a way through the Swiss defence and when the final whistle blew after five minutes of stoppage time it was the Swiss celebrating and Spain wondering how they’d lost, their World Cup plans in temporary tatters.

Spain’s problems were made worse by the fact that Chile beat Honduras 1-0 earlier in the day in Group H. It was Chile’s first win at the tournament for 48 years but they were too good for the Hondurans.

The scoreline doesn’t reflect their superiority or their ambition – Chile put in a far more skilful and committed display than many of the so-called bigger teams have done so far. The BBC described their play as “refreshing”.

Honduras, on the other hand, looked as naive as you would expect them to be, lacking in organisation. There’s no way they will get past this group stage.

The win confirms many people’s view that Chile are favourites to qualify from the group, but who will join them now is not certain at all. It’s become perhaps the most interesting group in the tournament.

The last game of the day saw hosts South Africa return to the action in Group A, taking on Uruguay. There was, sadly for the country, the tournament and the neutrals, to be no repeat of the opening game in which they gained a well earned and valuable point.

Uruguay and Diego Forlan in particular were ruthless in their efficiency. It was Forlan who scored the first from 30 yards, his shot taking a deflection off Mokoena that took the ball past the stranded Khune.

If you’ve been annoyed by the constant drone of the vuvuzelas then this was the match to watch – they were silenced when Forlan hammered home a penalty won by Suarez. As the striker cut across the six yard box he was caught by the boot of Khune, resulting in the penalty and a sending off for the unfortunate keeper.

South Africa were done and dusted and many supporters began leaving the stadium. There was still time for Uruguay to underline their superiority with a third goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Forlan again involved. His cross was picked up by Suarez on the far side of the box, he chipped it back in and Alvaro Pereira was on hand to bundle the ball in.

The result leaves Uruguay firm favourites to qualify top of the group, but for South Africa the chances of going through are slim. They must beat France without their first choice keeper and midfielder Dikgachoi who received his second yellow card of the tournament.

The joy of the draw against Mexico has gone and it’s a shame, as the continued involvement of Bafana Bafana in the competition woild only be a good thing. Nevertheless, this is a ruthless game and if they fail to qualify it will be because they just weren’t good enough.