Slovenia scored from a Milivoje Novaković penalty in the 79th minute, their only real scoring chance until that point, after Switzerland had controlled the run of play.

The penalty came on a counter attack by Slovenia which ended with midfielder Kevin Kampl being brought down in the box from behind by defender Johan Djourou after going through clear on goal.

It was a rare scoring chance for Slovenia, which had trouble creating scoring looks for virtually all of the match due to Swiss midfield pressure.

The defence led by goalkeeper Samir Handanović was the only reason Slovenia was in the match late in the second half, as Switzerland created numerous scoring opportunities but failed to find the back of the net.

Handanović was the man of the match for Slovenia, making at least half a dozen difficult saves, including a chest block on a stinging volley by Granit Xhaka in the 14th minute and a diving save on Ricardo Rodriguez's free kick effort from 30 metres out in the 61st.

With Switzerland pressing forward in the final minutes, Slovenia had a nice chance to score a second from another counter attack, but Novaković dribbled into the defence when he should have shot on goal.

Slovenia, who have a win and a loss from the first two matches in group E, will next face Latvia in Vilnius on Sunday.