The opening game of the World Cup 2010 between South Africa and Mexico for Group A of the tournament ended a tie, with the South Africans missing a chance to have their very own dream start. The World Cup 2010 opener was played in Johannesburg and Soccer City stadium, with Siphiwe Tshabalala scoring the first goal of the game on the 55th minute, and Rafael Marquez rescuing Mexico with a close shot 11 minutes before the final whistle.
South Africa started the game with a lot of stress, and the host nation didn’t even exchange a pass during the first five minutes of the World Cup 2010 opener. Mexico had the absolute control of the match, and the first good chance came in the 3rd minute with Giovani dos Santos. The Brazilian descent player of Tottenham was the best player for Mexico during the entire first half, and the Mexicans made a few good chances starting at the 32nd minute with Guillermo Franco, and even scoring a goal at 37′ with Carlos Vela that was (correctly) marked as an offside.
The tables turned in the second half of the game, starting with the South Africans scoring a fantastic goal when Tshabalala sent a left-footed shot high into the opposite corner beating Óscar Pérez. Modise lost a couple of great chances for South Africa in the 66th and 69th minutes of the World Cup 2010 opening game, as well as the opportunity to finish the game early for the host country. Mexico grabbed the opportunity and scored the equaliser with Rafael Márquez with 79 minutes on the clock. South Africa gave everything for the win in front of their screaming fans, but Mphela’s shot hit the post with a minute left during regular time.
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SCORE SHOULD HAVE BEEN MEX 2 SAFRC 1…LAME OFFSIDES CALL ON THE CORNER KICK GOAL BY MEXICO….STILL A GREAT GAME!