This is a black day for Switzerland - Hitzfeld

Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld believes his side's 5-2 loss to France will be remembered as a "black day" in their history.

Didier Deschamps' men claimed an easy victory, with Oliver Giroud and Blaise Matuidi scoring within a minute of each other after the first quarter of an hour, before Mathieu Valbuena, Karim Benzema and Moussa Sissoko put les Bleus 5-0 up.

Granit Xhaka and Blerim Dzemaili restored some pride late on but the former Bayern Munich boss is still distraught with the result.

"This is a black day for the Switzerland team. These two goals after the first quarter of an hour killed us," he is quoted as saying by 24 Heures.

"We did not play at our level today. At 2-0, it became very hard for us. They exploited our mistakes to put us in trouble.

"They have shown a lot of composure. France are very strong, we should not be blinded by the Fifa Ranking."

However, the veteran German is still optimistic that Switzerland can make it to the knockout stage when they face Honduras in their final game on Wednesday.

"The team still had a lot of credit when they finished the game. The goals from Xhaka and Dzemaili show that we are still alive.

"I want to emphasise that qualification for the knockout stage is still within reach. We have our destiny in our hands.

"Now we have to heal our wounds, analyse the match and bounce back. We lose together, but we win together."