Switzerland coach Jakob Kuhn thought nerves were to blame as his side crashed out of the World Cup finals after a penalty shoot-out defeat to Ukraine.

After a grim two hours of goalless football, the Swiss lost 3-0 on penalties as Ukraine sealed a quarter-final clash with Italy.

"It was a matter of nerves, plain and simple," Kuhn said. "When we practised penalties everybody took aim at different corners of the goal and our goalkeepers didn't stand a chance.

"I have witnessed many disappointments in my career. We will be able to work through this defeat and look back on the many positive things that happened during our campaign."

Defender Ludovic Magnin added: "It's terrible. It's so sad to lose this way but football is not always fair.

"It really hurts. We played so well and then you lose the thing. Football isn't always fair. We can keep our heads up and go home now. It's a giant frustration.

"We experienced something unique here. We're going home without giving up a goal. We fought like lions. We're just sorry that we didn't go further. Maybe we just didn't have enough experience. Next time we'll do it better.

"We've achieved a lot and I think the whole of Switzerland is proud of us. Now we have to pick ourselves up and look forward to hosting Euro 2008."