Valon Behrami played the full 90 minutes as Switzerland got back to winning ways with a 2-1 home win against Latvia.
The result in St Gallen means Ottmar Hitzfeld's team have their first win as they bid to qualify from Group 2 for the 2010 World Cup after they lost 2-1 at home last month to minnows Luxembourg following a 2-2 draw in Israel. The 23-year-old Behrami, who was winning his 22 cap, had missed the Luxembourg match with a slight knock but was back in the starting lineup on Saturday.
After a nervy first hour, captain Alexander Frei broke the deadlock in a close game on 63 minutes. The home task seemingly became easier six minutes later when the visitors' Juris Laizans was sent off for his second yellow card. Deniss Ivanovs struck a surprise equaliser on 71 minutes to stun the home crowd but Blaise 'Kufo restored the advantage within two minutes much to the relief of the AFG Arena.
Despite the weekend victory, with just four points from three games Switzerland still know they must win in Greece on Wednesday. In the European zone, the winners of each group will progress to the 2010 World Cup. The eight best runners-up will then be drawn into four play-off matches with the winners of each two-legged tie joining the pool winners in South Africa.