Swiss leading Group G following win over Togo

DORTMUND, Germany — Togo's Sparrow Hawks fluttered out of World Cup contention Monday after one of the most tempestuous journeys in the tournament's history.

Team Turmoil, which became the butt of jokes about "To-Go or Not To-Go" for its coaching carousel and threatened players' boycott, was tamed 2-0 by a Swiss side that is the opposite of the African team: precise and predictable.

Switzerland's victory sent it to the top of Group G with four points, slightly ahead of South Korea on goal differential. Switzerland and South Korea play Friday, with one of them headed to the second round and possibly both.

Togo, which lost 2-1 to South Korea in the opener, will now face France, in third position at two points and fighting for survival.

Togolese players, although dispirited and dejected, said they would not be a walkover in Friday's match.

"We don't want to leave with zero points," said Robert Malm. "We want to score some points for the honor of Togo."

At least Monday's performance salvaged a bit of that honor, badly battered by an ugly dispute over salary and bonuses. The conflict, which has rumbled on ever since Togo qualified for the tournament, came to a head Sunday when the players refused to get on the plane to travel to Dortmund.

They eventually relented after FIFA told them they risked serious sanctions, including being kicked out of the World Cup and barred from future ones. FIFA also promised to ensure the players get paid.

The players on Sunday demanded $96,000 per player — about $2.2 million — in cash. The government and federation had offered the equivalent of $58,000.

Coach Otto Pfister stormed out for three days and returned just hours before the South Korea match to protest the players' repeated absence from training and the federation's inability to settle the pay dispute.

"Turbulent? Yes," Pfister said of his experience in Germany. "Extremely difficult is what I would say."

Probably the understatement of the tournament.

The new peace wasn't enough, though, to prevent Togo's second straight loss and elimination from the tournament at the hands of a young Swiss team determined to dispel the image of being boring and unimaginative.

The Swiss staged a much faster, more attacking game than in their 0-0 draw against France. The passing wasn't perfect, and the first-half performance earned criticism from coach Koebi Kuhn. But the goal difference could have been even bigger.