Togo looks to Ghana for inspiration

Berlin: Now that Ghana has a World Cup victory for Africa, Togo will try to make it two. A win against Switzerland on Monday in Dortmund also could put the Sparrow Hawks in position to advance to the second round.

Togo comes off a 2-1 loss to South Korea in which it seemed to put aside some of the chaos that has plagued it in this tournament.

Otto Pfister did show up to coach, and the players performed pretty well despite the ongoing feud with the federation about salary and bonuses.

FIFA intervened to make sure the players did not boycott any more practices or games, and recent questions have been more about strategy and confidence than dollars and cents.

"I don't know how we are going to play and if we will play differently," striker Emmanuel Adebayor said. "All I know is that we will play to win."

Pfister, who walked out days before the South Korea match over the money squabble, then returned to work the game, is a coaching veteran.

He felt he had no choice but to side with his players in their dispute.

"It's not the first time I have worked with an African team," he said.

"I have never entered into political or money problems or got involved with disputes between the federation or players. But I have to react if the basis of my contract is not respected and the players are not there."

Togo must penetrate a Swiss defence that allowed France plenty of chances in a 0-0 draw.

Switzerland benefited most from France's lack of marksmanship, but didn't get any goals, either.

Coach Koebi Kuhn has some concerns about the heat, although temperatures have cooled in most of Germany.

Team doctor Rudolf Roder said he is considering giving the players "cooling vests" even before the game, not just during the halftime break, as he did in the early evening match against France.

Kuhn said he wanted a faster game than against France.

"We always aim for that ... but the climate may not allow us to give you fireworks for 90 minutes," he said.

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In the World Cup for the first time since 1994, the Swiss have found an opponent more lightly regarded than they are. It doesn't worry Kuhn.

"It's quite rare for us to be seen as the favorite, but the team can deal with it," Kuhn said.

Monday's other games feature Saudi Arabia vs Ukraine at Hamburg, and Spain vs Tunisia at Stuttgart.

It is the last day of the first round with three games; the final set of matches will be held at the same time in each group, meaning four games per day for four days.

The Saudis blew a late lead and tied Tunisia 2-2 in their opener. Ukraine had a much worse debut, routed 4-0 by Spain.

Saudi Arabia showed some offensive flair in its tie, and Ukraine's defence had gaping holes the Spaniards ran through with ease. So the Saudis carry some confidence they can find the net a few times again.

"Losing against Spain 4-0 does not mean Ukraine is an easy team," said veteran Sami al-Jaber, who scored against Tunisia.

"We respect the side and we know the players will be motivated to win against us. We will not underestimate them, but we need to win this match."

Not as much as Ukraine needs it. A loss for the World Cup newcomers almost certainly will mean an early trip home.

Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine's star striker, was invisible against Spain. Then again, so were his teammates.

While the Ukrainians made note that Spain is the group's top-rated team, they must look at every opponent as a difficult one after such a poor debut.

"This is a team that hasn't really played in any serious competitions, but they gave me a very good impression," Shevchenko said of the Saudis. "We need to be very careful and make the most of this second chance."

If Spain wins, it makes the second round. The Spanish have nothing but good vibes after David Villa scored twice and they romped past Ukraine.

"We're going to play exactly like we did in the last game," Spain coach Luis Aragones said. "We have a style of playing and we're not going to change it for anybody."

Why would they? The Spaniards had the best performance of anyone in the first set of opening-round matches.

Tunisia was counting on getting three points against the Saudis and now is in the difficult position of trying to rescue something from the Spain match.

"We know we have to be strong, physically and technically, and win a lot of one-on-ones against this team," Tunisia midfielder Adel Chedli said. "If we let them play, we're dead."