In spite of clear superiority and advantages in terms of opportunities, Switzerland frivolously gambled away a top start in the European Football Championship.
In the duel with Wales it was enough for the Confederates on Saturday in Baku only to a 1: 1 (1: 0).
Kieffer Moore saved the semi-finalist from 2016, who only appeared in the closing stages, with his equalizer goal in the 74th minute.
Previously, Breel Embolo (49th) from the Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach had beheaded the Swiss in the lead.
The team of coach Vladimir Petkovic is already under pressure in the second group game against European Championship opening winners Italy next Wednesday.
Wales then face Turkey.
Five minutes before the end of the day, the Swiss felt they were the winners when substitute Mario Gavranovic hit the ball for the first time.
However, the shooter was just offside at the conclusion, which is why the hit was not recognized according to video evidence.
In the 90th minute, Embolo failed with a header at the strong Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward.
Schär extended with the hoe
In summery temperatures, both teams tried to get offensive accents right from the start, but initially shied away from the great risk.
The first chance belonged to the Welsh, who surprisingly reached the semifinals at their European premiere in 2016.
After a cross from Daniel James, the brawny Moore from the English second division Cardiff City came free to head, but failed because of the brilliantly reacting Yann Sommer in the Swiss goal.
The Swiss had a little more play, but had a hard time against the well-staggered defense of the island kickers.
The first chance almost inevitably came from a standard situation.
Central defender Fabian Schär skilfully extended a corner with the hoe, but Ward saved with a strong foot save.
As a result, the Swiss became more dominant and had another opportunity through the former Frankfurt Haris Seferovic.
The Benfica striker missed the target with his shot.
Shortly before the break, Seferovic appeared free in front of the goal, but could not use Embolo's good preparatory work.
In between there was a lot of idling.
The low-lying Welsh, where coach Ryan Giggs can only follow the EM from a distance due to an upcoming court case, hardly offered any space and only sporadically looked for the way forward.
The Swiss lacked ideas and the necessary precision.
After the change, the Swiss got off to a great start. First, after a class solo, Embolo failed because of the strongly reacting Ward. But the 24-year-old was immediately given a second chance, which he used when he headed the corner kick into the net. The leadership gave the superior team of coach Petkovic even more self-confidence. Kevin Mbabu from Wolfsburg could have scored the second goal quickly, but moved from a promising position.
Only after an hour does the Welsh report back on the offensive. A shot by defender Ben Davies was deflected slightly and narrowly missed the goal. On the other side, the Embolo missed his second hit with a flick of a few centimeters. Overall, the momentum of the Confederates flagged, who for inexplicable reasons withdrew far and left the initiative to the enemy. That should take revenge. Following a corner, Moore headed freely and left Sommer no chance. So in the end there was no winner.