BASEL, SWITZERLAND - The Bradley household is all smiles on Wednesday night as Michael's 86th minute goal handed father Bob his first win on European soil as National Team coach, as the US edged Switzerland 1-0 in Basel.

The Heerenveen midfielder's late strike came as a welcome fillip from a game short on action in which neither side particularly deserved to win.

Bradley Sr. made four changes to the team which faced Brazil in Chicago last month, recalling veterans Taylor Twellman, Eddie Lewis and Marcus Hahnemann, while handing a debut in midfield to Toronto FC's Maurice Edu.

The US began brightly enough. In the two minutes after kickoff, Twellman announced himself to the Swiss backline with a burst of pace and Edu blasted a 20-yard shot wide of the upright.

Soon after, the Swiss began to roll. Towering striker Marco Streller, a local hero for FC Basel, was at the fulcrum of their formation, which shifted shape from 4-1-3-2 to 3-1-5-1, in contrast to the States' more straightforward 4-4-2.

With Getafe midfielder Fabio Celestini anchoring the system as a roaming libero, pace on the flanks and both wingbacks joining the attack, the Swiss looked tactically superior to the Americans at first.

Yet the US conjured up their first chance in the 13th minute when Edu fed DaMarcus Beasley deep on the right and the Rangers winger curled a shot over marooned goalie Pascal Zuberbühler, but just wide of the woodwork.

The honor of registering the first shot on target fell to the hosts in the 22nd minute. Xavier Margairaz avoided Lewis' attentions to cut inside and whip a diagonal shot at Hahnemann, who had exuded confidence from the off and gathered comfortably.

Around the half hour mark, the Swiss threatened again, Edu coming to the rescue to block a goal bound shot from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Steve Cherundolo sliding in to clear over the bar with the dangerous Tranquillo Barnetta in attendance.

Half an hour was all Beasley lasted before making way for Heath Pearce. The Rangers had been hobbling around after taking a bruise in an early collision with Stephan Lichtsteiner.

The first half was all set to end barren when the US carved out a superb opening in the 42nd minute. Benny Feilhaber picked up the ball just inside the Swiss half and advanced, playing wall passes with Clint Dempsey.

The Derby midfielder's short pass found Twellman on the edge of the box and the Revolution man flicked the ball wide for an unmarked Lewis arriving at speed. The Californian steadied himself before rifling a shot which Zuberbühler could only parry.

From the resulting corner, all manner of panic ensued in the Swiss box, with Bradley, Edu and finally Carlos Bocanegra taking swipes at goal, the US skipper's flick snatched at last by a relieved custodian.

Oguchi Onyewu found time to add to his card collection with a booking before the halftime whistle was blown, a sound greeted with deafening boos from the otherwise docile crowd of 16,500.

The second half picked up where the first left off, the teams canceling each other out as the rain took its toll on the surface and quality of play.

In the 52nd minute, a poorly struck header by Stéphane Grichting almost sent Lewis clear on goal and the Auxerre center back was perhaps lucky not to have been flagged for handling his resultant header.

Two minutes later, there was momentary panic in the US area as Brad Guzan, a halftime replacement for Hahnemann, missed a Lichtsteiner cross. Luckily, he had Cherundolo, one of the States' best players on the night, on hand to mop up.

The Swiss looked like finally breaking the deadlock in the 66th minute when Barnetta sold Cherundolo a delightful dummy in the box, but the Leverkusen wide man followed that up by slipping and his shot flew high into the crowd.

Substitute striker Blaise Nkufo could have tested Guzan in the 71st minute, but got the ball entangled with his legs and failed to get a shot off before Bocanegra tackled him.

With 13 minutes left, Bradley threw on Freddy Adu in place of Twellman and soon after, Danny Szetela for Lewis, for one final assault on the Swiss fortress.

With the game in the 82nd minute, it looked like the Swiss and their impatient fans had a get out of jail free card when an eagle-eyed Belgian linesman spotted Guzan catching the ball outside his area. The Chivas USA keeper redeemed himself with a smart stop from Hakin Yakin's powerful set piece to keep the US sheet clean.

Then out of the blue, a goal. From the right wing, Szetela whipped in a cross to the center of the box. Dempsey misconnected with his thigh, but knocked it on for Bradley, who bundled it past Zuberbühler to steal an unlikely winner.

Adu could have doubled the lead two minutes later, but kicked over the bar with the defense at sea. The Benfica man ended the game strongly and as the Swiss surrendered in the closing seconds, the US toasted a happy ending to an otherwise disappointing evening.

"It was a typical game," Bob Bradley told reporters afterwards. "Sometimes in Europe, it's very hard. Both teams, I think, made it difficult."

"For us, it is important to understand the mentality of being in these games and still finding ways to win."

Team spirit was the US recipe for victory, according to the coach. "It was the sort of game where the credit goes to the team for sticking together," he said. "Being organized and not giving too much away and finding a way to win that game."

Adu was more obviously delighted with the win. "It was definitely a great experience," he said. "Definitely good to be part of the National Team and a winning team - it's a great feeling, everybody's happy."

The US conclude an eventful 2007 with a trip to Johannesburg on November 17th to play 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa.

Scoring
USA - Michael Bradley (Clint Dempsey) 86'

Line-ups
USA - Marcus Hahnemann (Brad Guzan 46'); Steve Cherundolo, Oguchi Onyewu (Dan Califf 46'), Carlos Bocanegra, Eddie Lewis (Danny Szetela 84'), Benny Feilhaber, Maurice Edu, Michael Bradley, DaMarcus Beasley (Heath Pearce 31'), Taylor Twellman (Freddy Adu 77'), Clint Dempsey (Robbie Findley 90')

SWI - Pascal Zuberbühler; Johan Djourou (Steve Von Bergen 17'), Ludovic Magnin, Stéphane Grichting, Fabio Celestini (Gelson Fernandes 46'), David Degen, Tranquillo Barnetta (Christoph Spycher 75'), Gokhan Inler, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Xavier Margairaz (Hakan Yakin 46'), Marco Streller (Blaise Nkufo 46')