Switzerland Women 1-0 Scotland Women

Scotland defender Sophie Howard makes an interception against the well-organised Swiss

Scotland suffered a Women's World Cup qualifying setback after losing out to group leaders Switzerland.

Lara Dickenmann raced through the visiting defence to slide a shot beyond goalkeeper Lee Alexander on 32 minutes.

The Swiss captain went close to a second goal soon after as the Scots struggled to pose any attacking threat.

Switzerland have won all five of their games, while Shelley Kerr's Scotland are in third place with two wins from three outings.

The group winners qualify for next summer's tournament, while the four best runners-up from the seven sections will play off for one final place at France 2019.

Scotland are at home to Poland in Paisley on Tuesday.

The Poles, who host Albania on Friday, also lost narrowly in Switzerland and are currently on the same mark as Scotland after three games.

Switzerland, ranked four places higher than Scotland, dominated the first 45 minutes and visiting goalkeeper Alexander was kept busy.

Arsenal playmaker Kim Little, who missed Euro 2017 because of a crucial ligament injury, returned to the Scotland side for the first time in a year but the midfielder could not make an impact against the athletic pressing of the hosts.

Erin Cuthbert was lively for Scotland and her cross provided an opportunity for Jane Ross but the striker misjudged a header from close range.

The deadlock was broken when Dickenmann scored her 50th international goal, driving up the centre almost unchallenged to shoot past the reach of Alexander.

The Swiss tails were up and 32-year-old Dickenmann was then denied twice by the Glasgow City keeper in quick succession.

Alexander made another good stop early in the second half before Scotland began to enjoy more possession.

Jen Beattie picked up the scraps of a well taken corner by Caroline Weir but her effort deflected off a team-mate.

A squeal from a lone Scotland fan captured the excitement when Liverpool's Weir broke loose with an enterprising run only to send the ball sailing over.

Switzerland were content to sit back, although Ramona Bachmann threatened to add to their lead with a shot that found the side netting.

Deep into stoppage time, a third and final corner for the visitors offered the much-improved Scots hope but they could not find a telling touch.

Post-match reaction

Scotland head coach Shelley Kerr: "We thought the Swiss would go direct on the big pitch and they are a good team; you could see that in the first half.

"We improved after the interval, had a lot of possession without really creating any chances.

"Switzerland are higher ranked than us, they've been to a World Cup before, so there are positives to take because we matched them in the second half.

"I've always said we would need to win our home games, so the pressure is on us to beat Poland now."