Switzerland's new national football coach, Ottmar Hitzfeld, had a good start to his job, as his team demolished Cyprus 4-1 on Wednesday.

The game, played in Geneva in front of 14,500 spectators, was a friendly.

The score was opened by Stocker in the 8th minute, with Yakin making it 2-0 in the 27th. Makridis scored the only Cypriot goal just before half time. Nef and Vonlanthen were the scorers in the second half.

The Swiss team contained only four players from the squad which played in the Euro 2008 championship in June, where they failed to progress beyond the first round. Several of its leading players are injured.

Although the Swiss did not sparkle against Cyprus, they proved highly effective when they had a chance to score.

Switzerland's captain, Ludovic Magnin, was injured during the first half and taken to hospital.

The game was regarded as a useful warm-up ahead of Switzerland's first qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup, which start in September with a game against Israel.

Switzerland is currently ranked 44th in the world, and Cyprus is 62nd.

Hitzfeld took over from Köbi Kuhn in July, after the European championships.

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