JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – NO early favorites in Group A of the 2010 FIFA World Cup were established yesterday (June 11) in the opening matches of the tournament as Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay and France all played to draws.
Mexico came out early in the first match against South Africa and controlled the action at the capacity filled Soccer City. Superior passing kept the ball away from the hosts and opened scoring opportunities for Mexico, but South African defender Aaron Mokoena and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune withstood the early attack.
Mexico did manage to slip one past Khune before the end of the first half when Carlos Vela connected on a pass from Guillermo Franco, but the referees ruled Vela offsides and the first half ended 0-0.
Following the break, South Africa looked much more lively and were able to score the first goal of the tournament. Siphiwe Tshabalala picked up a clearing pass by Kagisho Dikgacoi in minute 55 and drove into the penalty area, where he launched a left-footed strike that found the back of the net and brought deafening noise from the home crowd.
South Africa had a number of missed opportunities to seal the match, but Mexico finally answered back in minute 79 when Rafael Marquez stood alone near the post and received a pass from Andres Guardado to earn an easy equalizer.
The 1-1 draw between South Africa and Mexico gave France and Uruguay a chance to get ahead in the group, but neither side took advantage as they battled to a goalless finish in their match.
Though favoured, France had a tepid series of matches in their qualifying for the World Cup and many expected Uruguay to give a strong challenge.
France, however, controlled much of the action in the first half even though scoring opportunities were a rarity. Uruguay striker Diego Forlan had perhaps the best chance of the first half when he launched a rocket off his right foot from around 20 yards out, but it was stopped skillfully by France’s Hugo Lloris before it could find the back of the net.
Prior to the day’s matches, the tournament opened with a star-studded concert that featured international stars such as Alicia Keys, the Black Eyed Peas and Shakira, with the latter performing the official World Cup song “Wacka Wacka (This Time for Africa)”.
Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela was unable to attend the opening ceremony of the tournament after one of his great-grandchildren, 13-year-old Zenani Mandela, died in a car accident early yesterday morning.
South Africa President Jacob Zuma and FIFA President Sepp Blatter both spoke at the opening ceremony, saying that they had only the highest expectations for South Africa’s hosting of the tournament.
