Match 1|South Africa vs. Mexico|11-06-10|Post-Match Thread [R]

What a great game! I expected Mexico to crush RSA, but both sides managed to score lovely goals for a draw.

 

mexico's defense is slow... and SA's defense whiffes on a lot of balls..

 

Just repeating what I said in the earlier thread.... I know Mexico like to push their fullbacks up, but I was so surprised at how easily South Africa could counter.

 

South Africa had them

 

so close

 

There have to be 2 'defenders' in front of the attacking player when the ball is played. The SA goalkeeper came out for the cross and was behind Vela (?) when the ball was headed to him. Therefore he was in an offside position because there weren't two opposing players (GK counts) in front of him when the ball was played to him, just the one on the line (which doesn't make a difference).

 

two players have to be between the player and the goal for him not to be offside. heard on espn radio that it looked like the keeper had moved forward, meaning the player was in between the last field defender and the goalkeeper.

 

LOL at those who thought Mexico would crush SA. I always knew they would get no more than a draw in this match. SA could have won this game, Mexico's backline can so easily be exploited.

 

Blanco was sweating buckets out there. Does he is stay fit or is he just an honourary player?
He did have some decent touches just can't run.

 

Henry, Anelka, Ribery, Forlan, and Suarez still to come

 

mexico and south africa 1-1 full time

 

Mexico over-hyped as usual no surprises here.

South Africa really unlucky to score a 2nd goal.

 

Mexico cannot afford to start with both Vela (typical Arsenal pass-pass-pass) and Dos Santos (typical young talent hero runs). They are too raw at this stage of their career and too inconsistent. Franco did little overall but missed three clear chances to score. Surely Hernandez deserves to start? His ability to retain possession and link the play is what Mexico have sorely lacked in the games I have seen in the build up to the WC. The fact that they still need to use Blanco to provide some of this says it all. To have so much possession and have such little to show for it is very disappointing.

 

I had predicted a 2-2 draw in the other threads in regards to this match.I didn't get the right socre but I got the draw.

Lookin back at Mphela's strike that it the post in the 90th minute,that would have been the perfect start for Bafana Bafana but would have been cruel to Mexico after having most of the ball possession and failing to convert so many chances.

Fair result in the end.

 

Actually quite a good game to watch as a neutral observer. I'm pumped about this world cup.
This is a very interesting group given that none of them is dominant and all six matches could go either way.
On paper, SA looks the weakest but home field is a huge advantage. - So is local time zone so I don't think the French are as bad off as some have stated.

The SA shot off the post in stoppage time was riveting...

 

We're talking about Mexico here, not Brazil. I always expected a draw

 

Yeah, I overestimated Mexico and underestimated RSA.

 

What a finish by Tshabalalalalala! Could be one of the best goals of the tournament right there.

 

The second half was entertaining, with S.Africa looking very good on the counter. A fair result at the end, although S. Africa had better chances to win this game in the 2nd half.

Good job to the refereeing crew, who despite a couple of bad calls on non-critical plays, got all the tough ones right. The player that impressed me the most in the match was S. Africa's keeper. For his saves, poise, and above all his superb distribution. Mexico's keeper, on the other hand, looked shabby.

 

yes mexico has slow defender, which are not bad at all, but their speed could cost them goals.

 

I thought all the announcers overvalued Mexico's first half. SA was nervous, but Mexico only had a couple half chances at best out of it.

SA has some nice midfield ball movement and I thought Marquez was dreadful defensively but he finished his chance.

Guardado helped change the game for Mexico.

 

fixed.

i agree that it was a fair result. but ooh...i wanted that 90th minute shot to go in.

 

France undoubtedly has enough talent to handle this raw and defensively-challenged Mexican team.

 

Mexico's goalie is pretty hilarious though, makes the game fun to watch