The first half was controlled by Mexico, but thanks to some effective defense and a disallowed goal due to offsides in the 38th minute, it was 0-0 after 45 minutes. South Africa opened the scoring when Siphiwe Tshabalala received a beautiful long pass from midfield. The forward corralled the ball just past the 18-yard box, dribbled once and fired a rocket to the top far corner and past Mexico's goalkeeper, Oscar Perez, in the 55th minute.
The host nation fought off aggressive attacks from Mexico until the 79th minute, when Rafael Marquiz finally broke through. A great cross by Andres Guardado sailed over the head of a lone South Africa defender a few feet from the goal and onto the foot of Marquiz, who set up his shot and blew it by goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune to tie it at one.
South Africa nearly jumped ahead in the 90th minute, but an off-balance shot by Katlego Mphela with a defender to his side hit the post and rolled out of bounds.
Player of the Game
Siphiwe Tshabalala, South Africa.
It's not always right to make the goal scorer the player of the game, but in this case, it is. Tsabalala was all over the field as an attacking midfielder, helping push the tempo with his speed — look no further than his run and quick shot for South Africa's only goal — and fortifying a South Africa defense that kept Mexico from putting the ball in the back of the net.
Scoring Breakdown
Siphiwer Tshabalala sprinted down the left side of the pitch and received a perfectly placed pass from midfield. Tshabalala fired a shot that hit squarely in the top far corner, putting South Africa up 1-0 in the 55th minute.
Mexico finally answered in the 79th minute when Andres Guardado cleaned up a broken short corner play and sent a nice cross to the feet of Rafael Marquiz, who lined up his shot and blasted it by the keeper to tie it up.
Notes
Mexico is 3-18-6 all time in the World Cup when allowing the first goal. The last time South Africa scored first and then surrendered a goal to finish the game with a draw was on June 24, 1998, against Saudi Arabia. Nelson Mandela missed the opening ceremony after his great-granddaughter died in a car crash on Thursday night. South Africa and Mexico each received two yellow cards: Tsepo Masilela and Kagisho Dikgacoi for South Africa; Gerardo Terrado and Efrain Juarez for Mexico.
Next
Host South Africa will play Uruguay on Wednesday, June 16, at 2:30 p.m. ET in Pretoria, while Mexico squares off against 2006 runner-up France on Thursday, June 17, at 2:30 p.m. in Johannesburg.
