South Africa leads 10-man France 2-0 after 60 minutes in World Cup as Gourcuff is sent off

South Africa leads 10-man France 2-0 after 60 mins

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa — Goals from Bongani Khumalo and Katlego Mphela gave South Africa a 2-0 lead over 10-man France after 60 minutes to keep alive the host nation’s slim chances of reaching the next round at the World Cup.

Steven Pienaar forced a 20th-minute corner and Siphiwe Tshabalala lofted the ball over France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris for Khumalo to head the opener.

Awful marking by France’s defense then allowed Mphela to scramble the ball home from close range in the 37th.

France was down to 10 men by then. Yoann Gourcuff was shown a red card in the 25th for elbowing Macbeth Sibaya.

Mphela hit the crossbar in the 51st.

Both teams started the day with just one point.

Uruguay led Mexico 1-0 in the other Group A game. Both France and South Africa would be knocked out if the scores in both games hold up.