Host South Africa draw Mexico 1-1 to open World Cup

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP SPECIAL COVERAGE – GROUP STAGE

On paper, South Africa, the 83rd-ranked team in the world by FIFA, shouldn’t have had much of a chance against No. 17 Mexico.

Then again, this match was hardly played in a normal situation, and Bafana Bafana nearly pulled off a monumental upset in the World Cup opener.

Midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala gave host South Africa a lead in the 55th minute, which held up until Mexico’s Rafael Marquez answered in the 79th, producing a 1-1 draw in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday.

El Tri possessed the ball 65 percent of the game but were unable to capitalize on numerous first-half chances, leaving the door open for South Africa, the first African nation to host a World Cup.

After an exciting first half with no goals, Tshabalala sent the vuvuzela-blowing partisans into a frenzy in the 55th minute. He ran down the left side and hit a left-footed scorcher from the box past Mexican goalkeeper Oscar Perez and defender Ricardo Osorio.

Twenty-four minutes later, the patient El Tri attack finally yielded a goal. Marquez took Andres Guardado’s cross and drilled a shot over South African keeper Itumeleng Khune for the equalizer.

Mexico dominated first-half play, coming very close to several goals and even having one disallowed. Giovani Dos Santos had a near miss in the second minute, an unmarked Guillermo Franco headed a 15th-minute corner over the crossbar and Dos Santos missed just wide left again in the 19th minute.

Marquez missed a free kick high in the 28th minute, Khune stonewalled Franco with a forearm save in the box in 32nd minute and Carlos Vela’s 34th-minute cross missed wide left before Dos Santos’ shot on frame in the 37th minute was blocked.

Bafana Bafana narrowly averted disaster one minute later, when Vela’s goal off a corner was disallowed due to offsides – a close call at best.

Franco then again headed the Jabulani, an adidas-made ball, over the bar again from the box in the 41st minute.

But South Africa later missed out on a couple of big second-half chances themselves. Teko Modise went on a 70th-minute run into the box but was tripped up by Mexican defender Francisco Rodriguez before Perez cleared his dribbler.

Then, with the score even at 1 in the 90th minute, striker Katlego Mphela took a goal kick and broke free down the right side, but his shot hit the left post from just outside the box.

South Africa resume Group A play Wednesday against Uruguay, while Mexico face France Thursday.

NOTES: With the draw, host nations are 14-0-6 in World Cup openers all-time. … South Africa are the lowest-ranked host team ever. … Bafana Bafana are now unbeaten in their last 13 matches, dating back to an Oct. 13 1-0 loss to Iceland in a friendly in Reykjavik. … El Tri are winless in three meetings against African sides in World Cup play. They lost to Tunisia 3-1 in 1978 and drew Angola 0-0 in 2006. … The Mexicans are 8-2-3 in their last 13 games.

Photo above: Mexico's Gerado Torrado (6) and South Africa's Teko Modise (11) battle for the ball Friday. (Chris Brunskill/UPI)

Video credit – ESPN