By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
South Africa, Wednesday, June 16, 2010 — It was supposed to be a night when South Africa leaped a big step forward in qualification for the last 16. However, after the promise shown in their opening match against Mexico, the Bafana Bafana were brought right back down to earth as they were outclassed 3-0 by Uruguay.
Former Manchester United forward Diego Forlan was the key difference between both teams as he scored the first two Uruguay goals to set the South Americans on their way to a convincing victory.
The first arrived on the half hour mark when his 30-yard curler took a slight deflection off Aaron Mokoena’s back before slamming off the underside of the bar and into the goal. He sealed the three points 10 minutes before the end when Uruguay were awarded a penalty.
Luis Suarez, who infuriated the South Africans all night with his threatrics, latched onto Forlan’s mis-hit shot inside the box and shaped to shoot, before South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune came rushing out and looked to have clipped his trailing foot.
The latter was shown a straight red with Moeneeb Josephs coming on to replace him. He was unable to do anything to save Forlan’s resulting penalty which powerfully went into the top left corner of the goal.
Álvaro Pereira added the icing on Uruguay’s cake when he headed in a Suarez right-wing cross three minutes into injury time.
It was just rewards for the adventurous South Americans who deployed a 4-3-1-2 formation that effectively saw three forwards starting at the same time – Forlan, Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
The Bafana Bafana were punished for their seemingly-defensive 4-4-1-1 formation that saw lone forward Katlego Mphela failing to make an impact in the game. Opening day scorer Siphiwe Tshabalala and Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar were pale shadows of their own selves as they failed to get their shots on target or to carve open the Uruguay defence.
The fact that they slogged for 67 minutes before getting their first shot on target pretty much summed up their miserable day.
The victory put Uruguay in the driving seat to qualify for the last 16, while South Africa have the near-impossible task of toppling France on the final round of Group A matches in order to reignite their fast-fading qualifying hopes.
Our pundit Asyraf Akbar was surprised at the scoreline between both teams. He predicted a 1-1 draw.
Mohd Asyraf Akbar of VJC. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Asyraf Says:
Many (myself included) predicted that it would be a tight match between South Africa and Uruguay, but the match ended with an emphatic scoreline of 3-0 to Uruguay. Uruguay dominated most of the possession from the start and worked hard to close down South Africa quickly. The Africans were unable to hold on to the ball and often lost possession cheaply, exemplified by Siphiwe Tshabalala’s poor passing throughout the game.
Before the game, I highlighted that the key match-up of the game was the duel between Uruguay striker Diego Forlan and South Africa custodian Itumeleng Khune. What a match-up it proved to be, with Forlan scoring a blistering goal in the first half.
Man of the match: Diego Forlan
He single-handedly dealt South Africa a major blow in their hopes of qualifying for the second round with his vision and attacking prowess.
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Photos from Day Six
| GROUP A | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
URUGUAY  | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
MEXICO  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
SOUTH AFRICA  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 4 |
FRANCE  | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
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