Switzerland will be missing key players, captain Alexander Frei and midfielder Valon Behrami, for their World Cup opening match against European champions Spain, Swiss coach Ottmar Hitzfeld announced.

Hitzfeld - who has been in the post for two years after a highly successful club career which brought two Champions League successes - said that neither Frei nor Behrami had recovered from ankle and thigh injuries respectively to be fit enough for Wednesday's Group H match.

Frei, who played at both Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup finals scoring twice in the latter, injured his right ankle in training on June 9 and has been battling to get fit by riding a bike and running.

"I have decided that Alex Frei cannot play yet," said the 61-year-old German, nicknamed 'The General'.

"The target is to have him fit for the second match against Chile (on June 21 in Port Elizabeth). It is imperative that he trains intensively, and that he is 100 percent fit."

Hitzfeld, who is just one of three coaches to win the Champions League with two different teams in his case Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, said it was the same principle as regards Kosovo-born, 25-year-old West Ham player Behrami.

"I didn't call on Valon Behrami so that he could carry on having treatment up to the Chile match," said Hitzfeld.

Three-time quarter-finalists Switzerland - who reached the second round in the 2006 edition - round off their group stage campaign against Honduras on June 25 in Bloemfontein.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP