The hosts opened up their World Cup campaign with great flair and style. The hosts gave a good account of themselves in their opening fixture against Mexico. South Africa can be proud of their performance today, as it is sure to be a good spring board for their World Cup campaign.
The match certainly did not start out this way at the kick-off however. Mexico enjoyed the lion-share of possession and looked the more threatening of the two sides in the opening minutes of the contest. Mexican starlet, Giovanni Dos Santos, was El Tri's most dangerous player on the pitch. Indeed Mexico fashioned a number of chances but were unable to take advantage of their dominance. Gillermo Franco got at the end of a couple crosses but fluffed his header on both attempts. The former Villareal striker made himself dangerous again after latching on to a chipped pass in the box. He was ultimately denied however as he failed to fire past South Africa keeper, Khune. With a host of chances gone begging, Carlos Parreira's men would soon make Mexico pay for their lack of a cutting edge.
In effect South Africa soon began to get a grip on the game and started imposing themselves in midfield. The host nation ended the first half with a good spell of pressure when Javier Aguirre's men found themselves on the back foot. The second half resumed at a much higher tempo than the previous one. It was end-to-end action as South Africa grew more and more in confidence. The breakthrough would come at the 55th min when Tshabalala was slipped through onto goal and smashed in a ferocious left-footed drive to the top corner. This was the World Cup and Africa's first goal, much to the joy of all South Africans including Desmond Tutu who was in attendance. South Africa kept pushing but were eventually undone by a free-kick at he 79th minute when Rafael Marquez, latching onto ensuing cross, found himself alone before Khune and fired past the South African custodian. Mexico would push hard for the winning goal, which offered space for South Africa to exploit on the counter-attack. The Bafana Bafanas fashioned one last chance in the dying moments when Mphela broke out and onto goal, but was cruelly denied as his left-footed shot smashed against the upright.
South Africa showed that they built well on their Confederations Cup campaign, despite it having ended before the knockout phase of the tournament. During the opening moments of the game, they did well to weather the storm and sustain the initial pressure they were put under by Mexico. The back-line defended valiantly under the leadership of their captain, Aaron Mokoena. South Africa were impressive in midfield as well however. The two central midfielders did well in protecting the back-four and broke forward on counter-attacks when the opportunities presented itself. Wingers Tshabalala and Modise on the left and right sides respectively were particularly dangerous on the counter. Their quality crosses asked questions of a Mexican back-line that had come under question in terms of their ability to deal with aerial threats. The Bafana Bafanas found much joy down the right flank, where the foraging Salcido often left space for Modise to run in behind him. The one disappointment for South African fans would probably have been playmaker Steven Pienaar. The Everton winger had a passable game by his own high standards and was eventually substituted due to Mexico marking him out of the game. Bafana Bafanas goalkeeper, Khune who at first struggled a bit, also performed admirably as he kept his team in the game throughout crucial moments of the game, including denying Franco from close range early on. The South African custodian also produced a world class save to keep his team up when he pushed away a venomous left-footed shot from Dos Santos, which was destined for the top corner if it had not been for his intervention.
It truly was a spirited performance from the host nation. It was somewhat of a baptism by fire for a nation not too many observers expected much from. Goalkeeper Khune and goalscorer Tshabalala were the stand-out players of the match. Midfielder Teko Modise also enjoyed a good game, delivering great crosses and making a nuisance out of himself against the struggling Salcido. All in all it was a very positive outing for the Bafana Bafanas. They showed great spirit and quality on the pitch, and this can only spell good things to come. Under the sound leadership of Brazilian coach Carlos Parreira, South Africa holds good chances in this group and could certainly surprise a few. Let us hope that this victory not only pave the way for South Africa, but for all the other African contingents in this World Cup as well.
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