Logo

Uruguay produced an assured performance to beat hosts South Africa in Pretoria and take control of Group A.
The South Americans were much more forward-thinking than during their nervous opening match with France five days ago providing a constant threat to Bafana Bafana's goal while also nullifying the meek attacking threat provided by their overwhelmed opponents.
Diego Forlan capped an impressive performance with two goals - the first a 30-yard deflected strike, the second a well-taken penalty after Luis Suarez had been fouled by goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, for which he was red carded - and Alvaro Pereira added a late third.
The victory not only advances Uruguay to four points and to top of the table ahead of their final group game with Mexico, but gives them their first World Cup finals victory since a group stage win over South Korea at Italia 90.
In contrast, this defeat is South Africa's first in 14 matches and leaves them facing an uphill task to secure a place in the last 16.
Prior to the game, both coaches had promised more positive approaches from their sides following conservative showings in their opening games, which yielded them a point a piece, and so it proved in an entertaining match that not only improved on what Group A had offered, but what the tournament on the whole has provided thus far.
Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira kept essentially the same side - Tsepo Masilela replaced Lucas Thwala at left-back - and the same shape from the 1-1 draw with Mexico. Their performance was more in keeping with their passionate second-half display at Soccer City rather than their nervous first 45 minutes, but they were unable to pose enough of a threat to trouble their superior opponents.
Having navigated a tricky opening game against France relatively unscathed and knowing here lay their chance to seize control of Group A, Uruguay opted for a three man strike force, bringing in Edinson Cavani to partner Suarez, with Atletico Madrid's Forlan playing in a withdrawn attacking role.
The former Manchester United striker was the difference - dropping deep to collect possession and influence his side's attacks and providing the moment of individual brilliance that gave Uruguay the lead midway through the first half via a 30-yard dipping shot that found the net via a glancing deflection off Aaron Mokoena.
He also demonstrated an immense level of composure to emphatically hammer his penalty into the roof of the net following a considerable wait while the hosts replaced Khune with substitute keeper Moneeb Josephs.
The 75th-minute penalty prompted a silent, defeated exodus from the stands and when Forlan floated an exquisite pass to Suarez who then crossed for Alvaro Perreira to head home Uruguay's third deep into injury time the stadium was only half full.
For all their disappointment, the partisan home support can have no complaints as Oscar Tabarez's side were dominant. They set out their stall in an opening 10 minutes that saw them create more chances than in the whole of the 90 against the French, with Suarez's shot from a tight angle that flew wide the best of them.
Suarez, who is so prolific in front of goal for club side Ajax, was to squander further chances: hitting the side-netting from a tight angle from 10 yards and also firing straight at keeper Khune from a promising position 20 yards out.
His strike partner Edison Cavani also missed two good opportunities and captain Diego Lugano fluffed a header from a Forlan free-kick early in the second half.
South Africa's chances were significantly fewer but their wastefulness mirrored the worst of their opponents' attempts.

Siphiwe Tshabalala - brim full of confidence after his superb opening goal against the Mexicans - had two good shooting chances in the opening quarter but the first he fired over from 25 yards and the second he badly misjudged with an attempted chip when Steven Pienaar was perhaps better placed to receive a pass.
Katlego Mphela, who was denied giving his side a win against Mexico by a post late on - missed the target with a close range header in each half.
South Africa now face a final group game against France without suspended keeper Khune, midfielder Dikgachoi, who picked up a second yellow of the tournament, and with only slim hopes of qualifying.

Mexico's Rafael Marquez struck 12 minutes from time to deny hosts South Africa a winning start to the World Cup at Soccer City in Johannesburg.
Marquez controlled Andres Guardado's cross at the back post and rifled past Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune to ensure the spoils were shared after a breathless opening to the tournament.
The Mexicans were the better team throughout, but they fell behind when Siphiwe Tshabalala fired in a left-foot thunderbolt from an angle on the left to give the hosts a lead in which their supporters revelled.

In an atmosphere bordering on ecstasy in Johannesburg, Tshabalala's screamer threatened to provide the 19th World Cup with the fairytale beginning it was hoping for, before Marquez and Mexico intervened.
Even then, South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira saw his team almost snatch it in the dying moments, only for striker Katlego Mphela to agonisingly roll a shot against the post with keeper Oscar Perez beaten.
Yet over the 90 minutes, Parreira and his side were perhaps lucky to get away with a draw themselves in front of a partisan 84,490 crowd as Mexico failed to turn their startling superiority into victory.
For South Africa, the first African nation to host the footballing spectacular, what was supposed to be a day of celebration began with the announcement that the 13-year-old great-granddaughter of former president and icon Nelson Mandela had tragically died in a car crash on Thursday.
The 91-year-old Mandela stayed away from the opening ceremony - which preceded the game - to mourn, but through president Jacob Zuma, who declared the World Cup open, he asked people to "enjoy the game".
It is unlikely many of the South African fans enjoyed the first 54 minutes of their moment in the global footballing spotlight as their team were comprehensively outplayed by a Mexico side that knocked the ball around the gorgeous surface with consummate skill and ease.
With Giovani sitting in the hole behind Carlos Vela and Guillermo Franco, the Mexicans had weapons Bafana Bafana simply could not handle - and the movement of the front three quickly began to cause the hosts all kinds of havoc.
Khune was only spared the embarrassment of his early fumble costing a goal by Aaron Mokoena's reflex block to deny Giovani, before Franco headed a corner wastefully over.
South Africa were struggling to get out of their own half with any real consistency and former West Ham striker Franco was inadvertently keeping them in the contest, again heading off target when he should have done better and seeing another shot expertly saved by Khune.
Mpehla had been forced to feed off scraps until he was inches away from heading in Tshabalala's cross just before the break, but soon after the interval the world had the goal for which it had been waiting.
Tshabalala, a 25-year-old Soweto-born left winger for Kaizer Chiefs, wrote his name down in football folklore with a strike of such pure quality it almost took a second for him to realise what he had done.
Mexico were shell-shocked, but after Giovani's left-foot rocket was tipped away by Khune, up popped Marquez to slot in and quieten some of the vuvuzelas in the crowd.
Mphela's late flirtation with the woodwork only compounded the agony for the hosts, but their World Cup campaign remains very much alive.

With the World Cup only seven months away, the South African FA made a brave but necessary move to oust former coach Joel Santana and bring back fellow Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira. That move paid off, and the team now prepare themselves for the opening match of the 2010 World Cup.

Bafana struggled to score goals a few months back, and Parreira has done well to improve that situation, though the side should make more out of the opportunities and possession they have during games. The defence on the other hand, has been impressive, with very few goals conceded thanks to tight marking and good communication at the back, while marshalled by Itumeleng Khune in goal.

The side currently boasts a 12-game unbeaten run, and although a number of those teams were not particularly testing for Bafana, there were also matches against the likes of Colombia, Bulgaria and Denmark in that statistic.

For this reason, and due to incredible support from the home fans, South Africa is feeling confident and aiming to make it to the second round of the competition. Failure to do so would make them the first host nation to fall at the group stage.

Mexico Are Well Prepared

The opponents of the host nation are the surprise package of Mexico, a country with a tradition of football passion and a fair share of good teams down the years. The Mexicans have played many warm-up matches ahead of the tournament, and the preparations have been good for the North Americans, with opponents such as England, Holland and Italy coming head to head with El Tri.

The side lost to England and Holland, while beating Italy, but against all of those opponents the Mexicans proved to be an impressive and cohesive outfit. Talented and relatively balanced throughout the park, Mexico will be a stern test for South Africa, and home advantage will be a necessary weapon in Bafana’s arsenal.


Mexico have reached the last-16 at the last four World Cup tournaments and coach Javier Aguirre has set a second-round place as the minimum requirement for his squad of 14 local-based stars and nine from around Europe. Aguirre salvaged a qualification campaign on the verge of failure under former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson.

The Mexicans do not suffer from a lack of support either, with a great number of fans making the journey to South Africa for the World Cup. They will be behind their troops, knowing that two difficult tests against France and Uruguay remain after the Soccer City opener. A coach like Aguirre has experience and will prepare his team well, while the many matches ahead of the tournament would have allowed the team to become more comfortable together.
South Africa

South Africa 1-0 Denmark

South Africa 5-0 Guatemala

South Africa 1-1 Bulgaria

South Africa 4-0 Thailand

Mexico

Mexico 2-1 Italy

Mexico 5-0 Gambia

Mexico 1-2 Holland

Mexico 1-3 England

TEAM NEWS

South Africa

Itumeleng Khune, fully recovered from an injury sustained in a bruising win over Colombia, will be the goalkeeper behind a back four of Siboniso Gaxa, captain Aaron Mokoena, Bongani Khumalo and Tsepo Masilela. There will likely be five midfielders with Teko Modise, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Steven Pienaar and Thanduyise Khuboni set to balance Bafana in the middle of the park. Katlego Mphela will be the lone striker, and will be in confident mood after scoring six goals in five World Cup warm-up matches.

Possible Line-up: Khune, Gaxa, Khumalo, Masilela, Mokoena, Pienaar, Modise, Tshabalala, Letsholonyane, Khuboni, Mphela.

Mexico

Oscar Perez appears the likely goalkeeper with Efrain Juarez, Ricardo Osorio, captain Rafael Marquez and and Carlos Salcido a possible 'El Tri' back four. And the Mexican midfielders in what could be a densely populated area of the Soccer City pitch may be Giovani dos Santos, Israel Castro, Guillermo Franco, Gerardo Torrado and Andres Guardado. Manchester United-bound Javier Hernandez looks a strong candidate to start upfront in a team packed with talented individuals who do not always sing from the same sheet.

Possible Lineup: Perez; Juarez, Osorio, Marquez, Salcido; G. dos Santos, Castro, Torrado, Guardado; Franco, Hernandez.

Mexican Fans Are Excited To Be Playing The Opening Match

PLAYERS TO WATCH

South Africa

Bafana will be looking to Katlego Mphela in the absence of Benni McCarthy in terms of a goalscorer and someone to rely on up front. The talented Sundowns attacker is playing well at the moment, and recently boasted that losing five kilograms during the training camps has made him faster. He will need to use that speed against El Tri.

Mexico

Manchester United-bound striker Javier Hernandez is one of the jewels in the Mexican crown, adding pace and skill to an already aggressive attacking team. He is likely to be the lone striker up front against South Africa, and the Bafana defenders will need to watch him carefully to make sure he does not get the better of them.

PREDICTION

It is a game that will rely heavily on home support in the 89,000 seater Soccer City Stadium, which will be transformed into a Bafana cauldron for the match. The Mexicans are the better team, but South Africa has improved steadily and are very fit. The home advantage will weigh heavily, and perhaps the hosts can pull off a surprise in front of their fans with a 2-1 win. Mexico are tipped by the Castrol Match Predictor to beat South Africa in this opener, but football is a tough game to call.

Israel-based defender Bevan Fransman has been named in South Africa's provisional 30-man World Cup squad.
Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira added the Maccabi Netanya centre-back to the squad after Morgan Gould failed to win his battle against injury.
Gould, who was in contention for a starting place, underwent an operation in March after damaging his ankle.
Fransman, 26, missed the recent two training camps in Germany and Brazil because of commitments with his club.
Parreira also selected four goalkeepers, including Germany-based Rowen Fernandez who passed a late fitness test, despite having said he would trim that tally down to three earlier this week.
After two months of training with mainly local-based players, the Bafana Bafana camp is being boosted by the arrivals of the overseas contingent.
Striker Benni McCarthy arrived at the team's Johannesburg hotel on Wednesday morning, a day after Fernandez, while Bernard Parker, whose FC Twente were crowned Dutch champions ten days ago, was already in camp.
South Africa's all-time top scorer McCarthy arrives with concerns over his fitness after playing just 112 minutes for West Ham since February.
"Benni arrived this morning and I'm sure the coaches are already putting him through his paces," said defender Matthew Booth.
"He's looking good, he's a professional and he'll put his shoulder to the wheel and make sure he's ready for the World Cup."
With Fulham's Kagisho Dikgacoi participating in Wednesday's Europa Cup final and Portsmouth's Aaron Mokoena preparing for Saturday's FA Cup final, Parreira won't have his full contingent of players until next week.

WORLD CUP PHOTO ALBUM
Do you have a photo with yourself and a star from South Africa? Send us your photos to be in our World Cup Photo Album!
Fransman's call-up means eleven players in Bafana Bafana's provisional squad are overseas-based, with the remaining nineteen plying their trade in South Africa's domestic league.
The World Cup hosts open the 2010 finals against Mexico on 11 June in Johannesburg before facing fellow Group A rivals Uruguay five days later ahead of a final clash with France on 22 June.
Full South Africa squad:
Goalkeepers: Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs), Shu-Aib Walters (Maritzburg United), Rowen Fernandez (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany), Moeneeb Joseph (Orlando Pirates).
Defenders: Matthew Booth (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siboniso Gaxa (Mamelodi Sundowns), Innocent Mdledle (Mamelodi Sundowns), Bongani Khumalo (Supersport United), Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa, Israel), Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth, England), Bryce Moon (PAOK, Greece), Anele Ngcongca (Racing Genk, Belgium), Siyabonga Sangweni (Golden Arrows), Lucas Thwala (Orlando Pirates), Bevan Fransman (Maccabi Netanya, Israel).
Midfielders: Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns), Franklin Cale (Mamelodi Sundowns), Lance Davids (Ajax Cape Town), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham, England), Andile Jali (Orlando Pirates), Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates), Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs), Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs), Thanduyise Khuboni (Golden Arrows), Steven Pienaar (Everton, England), Macbeth Sibaya (Rubin Kazan, Russia).
Strikers: Benni McCarthy (West Ham United, England), Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns), Siyabonga Nomvete (Moroka Swallows), Bernard Parker (FC Twente, Holland).

The Football World Cup is at the door steps and already fans are all packed up for South Africa. FIFA has announced that over two millions tickets has been sold till date. And the enthusiasm that fans are showing is overwhelming. Two third of the tickets are already sold and the third round will start on Feb 1. Already 1,206,865 applications received from 192 countries has been applied for the tickets in the third round.
South Africans has shown a huge interest as over 70 % of the applicants for this phase are from the host country. Apart frm SA ; USA , UK , Mexico etc fills the list in order.
Ticketing sales call centres will be open on 4th phase where people can confirm their booked tickets and there will be provision to buy tickets directly from outlets in each city.The call centres will assist fans with enquiries and applications. The hotline number for international customers is 0041445832010, and for domestic customers 0831232010.