Mexico Versus South Africa 2010

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JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (GaeaTimes.com)- Mexico will take on South Africa in the first match of the FIFA World Cup tonight. The world’s biggest sporting event will start off with an opening ceremony that will have performances from the likes of Shakira and K’Naan. This will be the first World cup on African soil and the expectation of the fans is running high. No host team has ever gone out in the first round and with the likes of France and Mexico in the group, South Africa will be looking for an early win. The pressure on the host team be immense but factors like crowd support and referee help have helped hosts in the past.

As for the resilient Mexico team, they have the reputation of being one of the few teams that have made it to the knockout stage of the previous four World Cups. The team is at a crucial stage with youngsters settling in and the veterans adjusting their styles to the new team. South Africa will be looking to upset the Mexicans to keep the crown optimism going. An early defeat could mean some local fans losing interest in the tournament from the very beginning.

The interesting clash to look out for will be between Steven Pienaar who will play in the midfield for the South Africans against the very experienced Mexican Carlos Salcido. A big disappointment for the local fans will be the country’s all time goal scorer Benni McCarthy not being selected. The heartening fact though is that Mamelodi Sundowns striker Katlego Mphela has been in good form recently and scored a few nets in the recent friendlies.