A soccer fan has his face painted in the colors of the South African flag before the World Cup group A soccer match between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg, South Africa, Friday, June 11, 2010. (AP Photo/Marcio Sanchez)JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Mexico's late equalizer didn't dampen South African celebrations as the hosts opened the World Cup with a 1-1 draw on Friday that overshadowed the tragic death of Nelson Mandela's great granddaughter in a car accident on the eve of the tournament.
Vuvuzela horns blared in Soccer City and across the nation and people danced in the streets, even before Siphiwe Tshabalala's stunning goal in the 55th minute gave South Africa the lead over Mexico. Rafael Marquez's equalizer in the 79th only briefly silenced the 84,490-strong crowd in the main stadium.
The crowd erupted when Katlego Mphela hit the near post in the 90th minute after getting clear of two markers, giving the game the climax it warranted: South Africa was only millimeters from victory in the firstWorld Cup match on African soil, but Mexico earned a deserved draw.
"I believe the ice has been broken ... and I believe in the next match we will be even more confident," South Africa coach Carlos Alberto Parreira said. "We could easily have won the game. All in all at the end a draw is a fair result.
"We are still in the competition. This group is very tough."
At the end of the day, all four teams in Group A have one point.
There was plenty of hype around France's first Group A match against Uruguay, but the scoreless draw between the two former champions in Cape Town didn't deliver much in the way of excitement.
France winger Franck Ribery and Uruguay striker Diego Forlan showed flashes of their potential, but the fear of losing the opening game stifled offensive tactics for much of the match.
An early goalmouth miss from France forward Sidney Govou and excellent save from Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera left Group A as wide open as possible.
There's three matches scheduled for Saturday starting with South Korea against Greece at Port Elizabeth and followed by Argentina vs. Nigeria at Ellis Park in Group B. England plays the United States in a night match at Rustenburg. Some of the Americans had unusual travel delays on the way to the hotel or training Friday when elephants twice blocked the road.
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