For the longest time, World Cup South Africa has been a wild, approaching hypefest. Build the stadiums, sort the security, hire the bands and dancers.
It’s been going on extra long, in fact, should you remember that South Africa had all but landed the 2006 World Cup, before lead FIFA cheque-casher Sepp Blatter suddenly and shadily dealt the world’s biggest bun feed out the side door to Germany.
And after all that, what a lovely scene of colour and joy in the big bowl in Jo’burg this morning! A continent can only ever stage its very first World Cup once. And toss in the still-very-short bits of history that have tip-toed past since South Africa was freed from the awful lingering spirit-kill of apartheid, and this was a long-time-coming and achingly needed party.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] But there also comes a point where a World Cup ceases being a multi-year nightmare of logistics and knock-kneed finance, and actually turns into a soccer match.
In South Africa’s case, it quickly became a one-way survival job against a cagey, gritty, clearly superior Mexican opponent.
The opening five minutes looked really, really bad for the home side, but they managed to tough it out to halftime nil-nil. Mexico had a very healthy share of the ball, but didn’t seem all that interested in finishing.
And then, into the second half, the upstart Bafana Boys shrugged off the run of play, and scored what will surely still be one of the goals of the tournament after all 64 games are in the books a month from now. A good run of possession and passing in the midfield, a gorgeous diagonal downfield ball from Kagisho Dikgacoi, and a singing no-spin knuckleball of a top-shelf finish from Siphiwe Thsabalala.
Ah, but if you’re going to be Cinderella, you need to have enough pumpkin for a good getaway carriage. Mexico regrouped, shuffled its lineup, kept pressing, and called shenanigans on the South African pumpkin supply. Cinderella was caught short, and Rafael Marquez equalized from off the right post with 11 minutes left to go.
The Mexicans kept pressing, at their own considerable defensive peril. It almost killed them, when Bafana ‘keeper Itumuleng Khune fired a route-one longball to Katlego Mphela, who seeped into Mexico’s floorboards and ripped what could have been the game-winner off the base of the left goalpost.
1-1 on the day, and perhaps a lucky escape for both teams. Mexico survived some occasional Bafana Bafana brilliance, while the home side were unable to escape with their glass slippers intact.
A fine, entertaining opener. I’m ready for some serious soccer now.
Sidenote: Because I know very little about goaltending, I take every chance I can to talk to those who do. Former Canadian national backposter Craig Forrest talks all the time about “body shape,” and how crucial it is to making good and consistent saves. The body shape of Mexico’s Oscar Perez on Mphela’s late-game post plunk – hopping blandly with hands limp at sides at a blank, baffled look on his face – did not, in this reporter’s eyes, at least – inspire confidence.
Onward!