Former Manchester City midfielder Gelson Fernandes scored the only goal early in the second half though the Swiss went close to adding a second, only for Eren Derdiyok to hit a post.
Despite those chances, Euro 2008 champions Spain controlled possession in vast periods of the game but struggled to make the breakthrough.
Switzerland's victory was a testament to Ottmar Hitzfeld's tactics but this is a tournament in which a defensive set-up has been rewarded far too regularly.
After 17 matches, the average goals per game is just 1.64, the lowest in World Cup history, and well short of the averages in 2002 (2.52) and 2006 (2.29).
The new Adidas Jabulani ball has caused some consternation and it does appear to be too light with countless overhit passes and free-kicks regularly floated over the bar.
But the cagey nature of the teams is a greater factor in the lack of goals so far.
And the poverty of goalmouth action has meant this World Cup has not had many magic moments to feast on.
It all started so well when Sipihwe Tshabalala smashed in a stunning strike for the hosts South Africa to take a 1-0 lead in the opening match against Mexico.
But poor marking by Bafana Bafana's defence let in Rafael Marquez for a late Mexican equaliser.
Elsewhere, New Zealand gained their first ever World Cup point with a dramatic equaliser from Winston Reid in the last minute of stoppage time against Slovakia.
And North Korea managed a moral victory against Brazil, even going as far as scoring a consolation goal in a 2-1 loss which never threatened to turn into the expected massacre.
Only Germany helped improve the goal average with a ruthless 4-0 thrashing of Australia who were hampered by Tim Cahill's sending off, one of five red cards in the tournament so far.
Otherwise, most of the major nations disappointed in an underwhelming start to Africa's first ever World Cup finals.
England began their campaign with a laboured 1-1 draw against the United States despite Steven Gerrard's fourth-minute opener.
Fabio Capello's men were largely untroubled until an absolute howler by Robert Green from Clint Dempsey's speculative shot gifted an equaliser to the Americans just before half time.
Chances fell to Emile Heskey and Aaron Lennon in the second half but England struggled to make a second breakthrough against a workmanlike American side.
Defending world champions Italy also had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their opening match against Paraguay.
Indeed, the Paraguayans took a first-half lead when Wigan Athletic's Antolin Alcaraz headed in a corner after taking advantage of unusually slack Italian defending.
But Marcello Lippi's team were much improved in the second half and Daniele de Rossi's header earned the Azzuri a deserved point.
France played out a stultifying 0-0 draw with Uruguay but even that match was not as bad as the much-anticipated clash between Portugal and Ivory Coast.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post with a classy long-range strike but that was as close as it got in a game more accurately summed up by an Ivory Coast corner deep into stoppage time.
With little chance of losing, the Ivorians still opted to take the corner short and secure a point which was wildly celebrated on full-time. It was a nadir of the negativity in this World Cup.
At least some credit can go to the likes of South Korea and Argentina in Group B for their attacking intentions.
The Koreans won 2-0 but it could have been more against a woeful Greece team while Argentina were restricted to a 1-0 win by Nigeria through Gabriel Heinze's header.
On another day, Lionel Messi could have had a hat-trick and he showed throughout why he is considered the best in the world, but Super Eagles keeper Vincent Enyeama was equal to all of his efforts.
Netherlands have also started well, beating Denmark 2-0, while Chile deserve plaudits for using their enterprising 3-3-1-3 formation in a 1-0 win over Honduras.
Africa's only win so far in this World Cup came courtesy of Asamoah Gyan's penalty for Ghana who beat Serbia 1-0.
Slovenia beat Algeria for their first-ever World Cup finals victory, while Japan beat Cameroon for their first finals win on foreign soil. Both of those games were also 1-0.
WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE
After one match
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GROUP A
11/06 South Africa 1-1 Mexico
11/06 Uruguay 0-0 France
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| MEXICO | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| FRANCE | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| URUGUAY | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
GROUP B
12/06 South Korea 2-0 Greece
12/06 Argentina 1-0 Nigeria
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| SOUTH KOREA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| ARGENTINA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| NIGERIA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| GREECE | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
GROUP C
12/06 England 1-1 United States
13/06 Algeria 0-1 Slovenia
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| SLOVENIA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| ENGLAND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| UNITED STATES | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| ALGERIA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
GROUP D
13/06 Serbia 0-1 Ghana
13/06 Germany 4-0 Australia
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| GERMANY | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| GHANA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| SERBIA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| AUSTRALIA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
GROUP E
14/06 Netherlands 2-0 Denmark
14/06 Japan 1-0 Cameroon
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| NETHERLANDS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| JAPAN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| CAMEROON | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| DENMARK | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
GROUP F
14/06 Italy 1-1 Paraguay
15/06 New Zealand 1-1 Slovakia
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| ITALY | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| NEW ZEALAND | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| PARAGUAY | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| SLOVAKIA | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
GROUP G
15/06 Ivory Coast 0-0 Portugal
15/06 Brazil 2-1 North Korea
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| BRAZIL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| IVORY COAST | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| PORTUGAL | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| NORTH KOREA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
GROUP H
16/06 Honduras 0-1 Chile
16/06 Spain 0-1 Switzerland
| W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
| CHILE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| SWITZERLAND | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| HONDURAS | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SPAIN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
SCORERS
1 Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa), Rafael Marquez (Mexico), Lee Jung-Soo (South Korea), Park Ji-Sung (South Korea), Gabriel Heinze (Argentina), Steven Gerrard (England), Clint Dempsey (USA), Robert Koren (Slovenia), Asamoah Gyan (Ghana), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Miroslav Klose (Germany), Thomas Mueller (Germany), Cacau (Germany), Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands), Keisuke Honda (Japan), Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay), Daniele de Rossi (Italy), Robert Vittek (Slovakia), Winston Reid (New Zealand), Maicon (Brazil), Elano (Brazil), Ji Yun-Nam (North Korea), Jean Beausejour (Chile), Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland)
1 own goal Daniel Agger (Denmark) for Netherlands
RED CARDS
Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay) v France
Abdelkader Ghezzal (Algeria) v Slovenia
Aleksandar Lukovic (Serbia) v Ghana
Tim Cahill (Australia) v Germany
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