After beating Spain in its World Cup opener, Switzerland wouldn't have thought its tournament would be hanging in the balance going into its final Group H match on Friday against Honduras.

The Swiss can still win the group - or finish at the bottom. But the path at least is clear: beat Honduras by two goals at Free State Stadium and the Swiss are through to the round of 16.

Chile, which plays Spain in a simultaneous game, leads Group H with six points. Switzerland is level with Spain on three points, although the Spanish have a better goal difference. Honduras is last with zero points.

Switzerland upset European champion Spain 1-0 in their opener in Durban before going down to 10 men and losing to Chile 1-0 in Port Elizabeth. In both matches, the team relied on a solid defense and opportunistic attack.

Those tactics look set to change against Honduras in a game that coach Ottmar Hitzfeld said "everybody expects Switzerland to win easily."

"Against Spain we were the underdogs and concentrated on defending and hoping for a successful counterattack," Hitzfeld said. "Against Chile, we were forced to defend after our player (Valon) Behrami had been sent off.

"Against Honduras we must win with a two-goal difference to make sure we reach the second stage of the World Cup, and I am very positive that we are going to do it."

Switzerland, however, has only scored three goals in its last seven matches, raising questions as to whether the team has the power up front to score twice against Honduras.

Alex Frei, who was sidelined against Spain with an injured right ankle but played 42 minutes against Chile and is fit to play Friday, brushed aside such concerns.

"Our defensive play is very strong, but we can score lots of goals," the Switzerland striker said. "We've got many players, very skilled players as far as set pieces are concerned, but also from normal play.

"Who is going to score a goal - that I don't know. We just have to make sure that we do score, and we feel comfortable about that."

Behrami is suspended after his red card, and Switzerland also will be without defender Philippe Senderos, who sprained his right ankle against Spain. Steven Von Bergen has filled in for Senderos since the injury, and is expected to start against Honduras.

Still, Switzerland has reason to be confident. The veteran squad boasts nine holdovers from the 2006 World Cup team that reached the round of 16 and was eliminated on penalties by Ukraine despite not having conceded a goal over four games.

It showed similar grit and resolve against Spain and Chile, and now finds itself facing a Honduras side that has done little to shake the tag of worst team in the group after a 1-0 loss to Chile and a 2-0 defeat by Spain.

The Central Americans have sputtered offensively, failing to create many solid scoring opportunities, and they're unlikely to get many chances against a Swiss team that had set a World Cup record of 559 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal before Chile's winner.

Hitzfeld, however, was taking nothing for granted.

"They are very dangerous in attack, just like Spain and Chile. But they seem not to be as precise in their game as Chile and Spain," the German coach said. "On the defensive end, the Hondurans sometimes are a bit disorganised, which creates holes that we have to take advantage of."

Honduras can still qualify for the knockout rounds with a big win against Switzerland and some luck, and striker David Suazo said his team will fight as long as there's a chance to advance.

"Against Switzerland, a positive result can give us hope," Suazo said.

"Not everything is lost ... We're going to be more offensive because we need to win - or win. We have to risk everything."

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