Alessandro del Piero looked jaded, while Francesco Totti appeared subdued on his comeback to the national side following a broken ankle in February.

Playing upfront, Totti appeared to gingerly avoid contact especially after a crunching tackle from the home side's Arsenal defender Philippe Senderos.

But the Roma striker gained in confidence in the second half by dropping back to midfield, offering a revitalised frontline at least two clear scoring chances that were saved by Switzerland's replacement goalkeeper Fabio Coltorti.

Alberto Gilardino put Italy in the lead in the 10th minute with their only clear attempt on goal in the first half.

Palermo's Fabio Grosso darted through from the back into a glaring gap on the left wing after the kind of lapse in concentration that Swiss coach Jakob Kuhn has been trying to purge from his young side.

"Mentally they're ready today. But their fitness is still not 100 percent," said Kuhn, glossing over the early mistake. "I'm very satisfied, very happy with this match."

Grosso slotted through an inch perfect low cross which the AC Milan centre forward easily tipped past Zuberbuehler from close range.

But Italy rarely looked menacing otherwise and the Swiss kept most of the possession, taunting the Italians but rarely making an impression on the five strong defensive line-up.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi said after the side's first international warm-up that he had found a decent line-up at the back to fill in for AC Milan's Alessandro Nesta and Gianluca Zambrotta of Juventus, who were injured.

"We're preparing for the World Cup, we have another difficult match Friday which will serve us well to prepare for the opening match against Ghana," he said.

The Swiss breakthough came in the 31st minute when Ricardo Cabanas found Daniel Gygax clear on the edge of the penalty area.

The Lille midfielder had time to unleash a drive into the top corner of Gianluigi Buffon's net.

Fortunes swapped sides in the second half after an unsettling series of substitutions that broke the flow of play. The Swiss, who fielded only one thoroughbred striker throughout the game, had few scoring chances.

"A team that has drawn against Ivory Coast and against Italy doesn't have too many fears," said top goalscorer Alexander Frei.

Italy, who play another warm-up against Ukraine in switzerland Friday, kick off their campaign in Group E on June 12 against Ghana, followed by matches against the USA and the Czech Republic.

Switzerland play France on June 13, and also face Togo and South Korea in Group G.