South Africa v Mexico Source- BBC.Com Venue : Soccer City, Johannesburg Date : Friday, 11 June 2010 Kick-off : 16:00 SAT Coverage : ITV and BBC Radio 5 live, live text commentary and video highlights on this website TEAM NEWS South Africa coach Carlos Parreira has named his side to face Mexico and is sticking with the team that beat Guatemala 5-0 and Denmark 1-0 in their final two warm-up matches. Mexico captain Rafael Marquez is back in training following an injury to his right leg, while West Ham striker Guillermo Franco is fit again after injuring a toe on his right foot in the friendly against England on 24 May. South Africa (4-5-1): Itumeleng Khune; Siboniso Gaxa, Lucas Thwala, Bongani Khumalo, Aaron Mokoena; Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Kagisho Dikgacoi, Steven Pienaar, Teko Modise, Siphiwe Tshabalala; Katlego Mphela. MATCH PREVIEW Six years after winning the right to host the tournament, South Africa kick off the first-ever World Cup on African soil. The nation’s hopes are in the hands of veteran coach Carlos Parreira, who led Brazil to glory in 1994. It will be no easy task. Bafana Bafana are the lowest-ranked country ever to host a World Cup and they are desperate to avoid becoming the first hosts to fail at the opening group stage. Parreira’s team haven’t played a competitive match in over a year, but confidence is growing following an unbeaten run of 12 matches dating back to October 2009, with Denmark their most recent victims. Expectations in Mexico are high that the country’s ‘golden generation’ can produce a historic performance in South Africa. The likes of Andres Guardado, Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela are the pick of the bunch, while much is expected of Manchester United-bound striker Javier Hernandez. An enormous amount of preparation has gone into Mexico’s World Cup build-up, with Javier Aguirre’s men playing 12 friendly matches in 2010 alone. Their final warm-up match was a 2-1 victory over world champions Italy, suggesting El Tri’s confidence may not be misplaced. MATCH FACTS Head-to-head – This will be the fourth meeting between these sides. Mexico have won two to South Africa’s one. Their most recent meeting was a 2-1 win for Bafana Bafana in Los Angeles at the 2005 Gold Cup. South Africa – No home nation has lost in seven previous curtain-raisers. The record stands at five victories (Italy in 1934, Brazil 1950, Sweden 1958, Chile 1962 and Germany 2006) and two 0-0 draws (England against Uruguay in 1966 and Mexico versus the Soviet Union in 1970). – South Africa are the second-lowest ranked side in the tournament (83) after North Korea (105). – Parreira is managing at his sixth World Cup after Kuwait (1982), the United Arab Emirates (1990), Saudi Arabia (1998) and Brazil (1994 and 2006). Mexico – No other side has played as many curtain-raisers as Mexico. El Tri will be playing in their fifth opener, having lost three and drawn one. – Mexico are yet to get the better of African opposition at a World Cup in two previous attempts: they lost 3-1 to Tunisia in 1978 and drew 0-0 v Angola in 2006. – Mexico have been eliminated at the last 16-stage at the past four World Cup finals. – El Tri have played 12 warm-up matches in 2010, winning eight and losing twice. MATCH OFFICIALS Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan) Assistants: Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan) and Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan) Fourth official: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia) Teams South Africa v Mexico 16:00 SAT South Africa squad 01 Josephs 02 Gaxa 03 Masilela 04 Mokoena 05 Ngcongca 06 Sibaya 07 Davids 08 Tshabalala 09 Katlego Mphela 10 Pienaar 11 Modise 12 Letsholonyane 13 Dikgacoi 14 Booth 15 Thwala 16 Khune 17 Parker 18 Nomvethe 19 Moriri 20 Khumalo 21 Siyabonga Sangweni 22 Walters 23 Thanduyise Khuboni Mexico squad 01 Perez 02 Rodriguez 03 Salcido 04 Marquez 05 Osorio 06 Torrado 07 Barrera 08 Castro 09 Franco 10 Blanco 11 Vela 12 Aguilar 13 Ochoa 14 Hernandez 15 Moreno 16 Juarez 17 Giovani 18 Guardado 19 Magallon 20 Torres 21 Bautista 22 Alberto Medina 23 Michel 2010 World Cup Blog for the Fans
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South Africa Bafana clash with Mexico
