Hosts held fancied Mexicans in an exciting draw

Group A, 14:00 GMT, June 11, 2010
Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa




South Africa
1 - 1
Mexico


Scoring Summary


South Africa Mexico
Siphiwe Tshabalala (55') Rafael Márquez (79')

Match Stats

South Africa

Mexico

10(3)	Shots (on Goal)	16(3)
17	Fouls	13
4	Corner Kicks	5
4	Offsides	6
35%	Time of Possession	65%
2	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
2	Saves	2

MATCH SUMMARY


• Man of the Match: Giovani Dos Santos - Everything positive that Mexico did was through him, and though it didn't always come off exactly to plan, he certainly showed flashes of creative brilliance and will likely be key to Mexico's hopes of progress.

• South Africa verdict:
Played a counter-attacking game and looked impressive at times when breaking at pace. But aside from Tshabalala's goal, the final ball was always lacking and Perez in the Mexico goal was rarely threatened. Defensively very shaky and Marquez's equaliser was just another demonstration of the poor marking from set pieces, prevalent throughout.

• Mexico verdict:
Dominated possession throughout with Dos Santos pulling the strings, but despite creating chances, Franco's finishing was not up to scratch. Prone to committing too many men forward and leaving huge spaces at the back, especially down either flank.

• Could do better:
All the defenders. An exciting end-to-end opener is great for the spectators but the coaches would have been livid with their respective sides' backlines. Lots of mistakes, poor marking and a lack of discipline. Entertaining stuff nonetheless.

• Stat attack:
South Africa's draw was the sixth occasion the host nation have drawn their opening match of the tournament. The others were England 1966, Mexico 1970, Spain 1982, USA 1994 and Japan 2002. No hosts have ever lost their opening fixture.

Match Information

Stadium:	Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa
Attendance:	83,548
Match Time:	14:00 GMT
Official(s):	Ravshan Irmatov (Referee)