Game 20: France vs Mexico

First, let me start with this: Thank you Mexico for having the best fans in the world! Now, before I have my United States citizenship revoked, let me explain. This world cup has been dominated by one sound, the dreaded vuvuzela, and lacking a historic football theme, singing! But the Mexican fans changed this, instead of the vuvuzela, we heard chanting, instead of a bee-hive we heard cheering, drums, we saw passion and I loved it. So thank you Mexico fans, now please attend every match as the minority!

Anyway...

Today, Mexico took on France, and re-wrote history as they routed les Bleus 2-0 to come within a whisker of reaching the knockout stages.

With the defeat of France, Mexico snapped some interesting losing streaks. For one, the country has never beaten France; two, until today Mexico had never defeated a country that has won the World Cup. Sure, those facts may only interest the statistic snobs, but it does show growth for Mexican football, demonstrating how they can take on the world's elite teams.

When Javier Hernandez came on as a substitute to score Mexico's first goal in the 64th minute, by beating the off-sides trap to stage a one-on-one with Hugo Lloris, he became the second person in his family to score against France, after his Grandfather had done it previously. The second goal from Blanco, scored in the 79th minute on a penalty, is also important because in doing so he became the third oldest player to have ever scored in the World Cup finals, at the ripe young age of  thirty-seven.

And finally, the most important record setter, Mexico's win over France has essentially kicked hosts South Africa out of the tournament, when previously a host nation has never failed to make it out of the group stage. The reason I said Mexico did this, instead of Uruguay, is because South Africa does still have an extreme outside shot of qualifying, provided they beat France. However, now France has to really lay the 'smack-down' on the hosts to have any chance of qualifying, and when France get cornered, they often deliver, in some form or another (*ahem*, playoff against Ireland).

Mexico now go into their final game against Uruguay only needing a draw to qualify for the second round. With Argentina knocking on the door, and a tie meaning Mexico draws the South Americans, I expect the Mexicans to come out firing on all cylinders in an effort to win, and therefore draw one of the weaker teams from Group B (see: South Korea or Greece).

All in all, Mexico played spectacular football today. The link up play was spectacular, the attackers ran at the defenders, the defenders held off the attackers, you name it and Mexico did it; well, they could have finished their shooting more, but that is the story of this World Cup and a tale for another time.

I actually am terrified of Mexico's future team, with the likes of Dos Santos, Chicharito, and co., Mexico have a solid platform to build for the future. So whether win or lose in the next stage, I expect good things to come from my southern neighbor.

Did I mention Mexican fans are the best?

Game 1: South Africa vs Mexico

What a great way to start the tournament, both teams came out fighting, and we were even offered a few surprises.

Mexico clearly dominated throughout most of this game, as demonstrated by having sixty-four percent of the possession; however, that does not mean it was an easy game for them. During the first half everything went Mexico's way. They had fluid passing, they made good runs, defense was solid, it seemed they were doing everything right. On the other-hand, South Africa could produce very little, only really having three instances of attack in the whole forty-five minutes, but none being really impressive.

It all almost went downhill for Bafana Bafana, when in the thirty-second minute Franco got onto the end of the ball, but was denied by the goalkeeper Muneh who showed excellent reflexes to deny the Mexican striker.  Then in the thirty-seventh minute, Vela got onto the end of a cross, that took a reflection, to score... Only for it to be called back by the side-line official. Upon further review of the replay, it became clear he was offsides due to the result of the flick, and the mistake from the SA goalkeeper who came too far off of his line, allowing South Africa to catch a lucky break.

Going into halftime Bafana Bafana had a lot of work to do. They were not able to make any offensive pushes, and their defense was very shaky, which would unfortunately last for the rest of the game. Mexico, in contrast, seemed to be doing everything right, except score. Vela had not been performing well, so it seemed only like a matter of time until he was substituted off unless he improved.

Trust Carlos Alberto Parreira to fix a lot of these issues, as from the moment of the second half kickoff you could tell South Africa had vastly improved. Finally starting to get into Mexico's defensive half they were beginning to show promise.  Then in the fifty-fifth minute the stadium would explode as Tshabulala scores off a breakaway, driving a shot as far top-left corner as one could, scraping both post and crossbar before hitting the net, I would not be surprised if that goal ends up being one of the top ten for the entire tournament, absolutely beautiful.

Mexico was definitely caught off guard and started to become rather flat footed. In the sixtieth minute Dos Santos, trying to inspire his team, makes a beautiful shot, near upper-right corner that was only stopped by a heroic save from Muneh. Mexico was slowly starting to pick up the pace.

In the sixty-ninth minute Vela finally came off, having performed less than satisfactory, to bring on the veteran Blanco (more on that later). Then in the seventy-fourth minute Franco gave way to Javier Hernandez. The coach was really trying to get some fresh attacking legs on the field, desperately trying to find an equalizer, which they would find in the seventy-ninth minute when a short corner was given to Guardado, who quickly snapped in a cross finding Rafa Marquez on the back post. Settling the ball, he was able to calmly slot it in between the keeper and post, giving Mexico the much desired goal to pull out a draw.

Final Score: South Africa 1 - 1 Mexico.

Things they did right, and things to improve on:
South Africa may have underperformed in the first half, but they came out firing on all cylinders during the second. Tshabulala was an absolute nightmare for the Mexican defense, so he will need to keep up this form. The midfield also showed some improvement, beginning able to finally put pressure on Mexico's possession based style. However, the defense was very shaky all game, constantly letting the Mexican attackers have their way. If it hadn't been for the excellence of Muneh between the posts, this game easily could have been three to one. Pienaar, the golden boy of Bafana Bafana was really quiet throughout most of the game, until his eventual substitution. He will need to drastically improve in order for South Africa to go further in this tournament.  The offense also needs to produce some more shots, as the entire team only had two chances all game, the first being a goal, and the second hitting the post, this will not be acceptable at later stages.

Mexico did most things really well except, as noted earlier, score. It may be me, but I don't see the need for Blanco in the squad. I understand he is the talisman and local hero of the nation, but he was clearly showing his age in this game. He was simply to slow, unable to keep up with the run of play, and being rather unspectacular when on the ball, seeming to have lost his first touch. On the other hand, Dos Santos was fantastic, a real workhorse. He was running all the around the field, hungry for the ball, taking shots and putting together some good passes, the kid seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

In the end I think this was probably the correct score for the game. South Africa showed some real improvement while Mexico did not, and that improvement will serve Bafana Bafana well in their games to come.

Picture from:http://mexico.worldcupblog.org/world-cup-2010/south-africa-1-mexico-1-splitting-the-points-with-the-hosts.html#comments

Group A: France

France reached the World Cup amid great controversy. Failing to display the skills fans have come to expect out of the nation, France had to struggle through qualification. Placing second behind Serbia they had to do a playoff against Ireland to determine who would reach South Africa. In the 2nd leg of the playoff, Ireland had evened out the goal aggregate and the teams were heading into extra time, only for a handball from striker Thiery Henry to reach the onrushing William Gallas to score the goal and send the French through. Irish fans will never forget this, but the rest of the world is left asking, does France deserve to be at the Cup?

The star quality is there in all positions, but the bad qualification run leaves some doubts. Luckily for France, they are easily still the best team in their group. In theory most betting people will expect them to win all their matches, and this is likely. As such the real test for France will be once they get to the knockout stage, where they will most likely be facing S. Korea, who they should once again beat, but then come up against a very strong England squad, which on paper will run circles around the French. Les Bleues will have to be at their best in order to make a strong showing, and not have a repeat of qualification.

Key Players:

Anelka has been on fire lately for both club and country, to the point where I feel he now outshines Henry. He should be starting the games, and expect him to be the leading scorer for the French side.

Ribery and Malouda on the the wings will provide some good speed that will trouble some other nations, particularly because these two are also very strong players with the technical skill to dribble around double marking.

The defense all around is actually really good for France, and they will give up few goals, but they will have to score some points if they don’t want to finish in goalless draws. The key for France is to show up, forget about qualifying, forget about disappointing club seasons, and forget about the South African home crowd. If they can do these things then the classical French will shine in this years tournament.

My Prediction: Quarter Finals

Group A: Uruguay

The sky blues are back at the world cup! That is great news for Uruguayan citizens who feel the team should win, but I feel they will be disappointed. In qualification Uruguay was all over the place. One week they would have a brilliant showing pummeling Bolivia 5-0, but then the next week losing 0-1 to Paraguay. The problem is what team will show up for the Cup finals. I see Uruguay as a little Brazil. They have some very skilled players, but often times the players don’t work together, they simply try to do too much on their own. Their offense is sure to score goals, but how many they will let in becomes a factor, because their defense is not good enough to take on the worlds best.

The most important match of Group A will be between Uruguay and Mexico, which could easily turn into a goal-fest. Whichever team becomes victorious will decide 2nd place in the group, and determine who moves on into the knockout stages. If the teams draw, then South Africa could have an outside shot of taking 2nd.

Key Players:

Diego Forlan is naturally the main player that everyone talks about, but I will go one further: Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez. I group these two together because when they partner on the pitch they average a goal almost every-other game. This is crucial because Uruguay is looking to run a 4-4-2 position. Personally, I feel if they went 4-3-1-2 they would do better, by having the veteran Sebastian Abreu playing right behind the two strikers. If you don’t have a steady defense, then you need to score plenty of points, and those three working together could be a real terror.

My Prediction: Group A 3rd Place.

Group A: South Africa

This world cup will be known as “a first for everything”. The reason is apparent when one looks at the first group and notices the teams South Africa is paired with. Historically, the host nation has never failed to make it out of the group stage, but this world cup will be different. Although SA does field some talented players, especially up and coming ones, they will not have the strength to overcome the likes of France, Mexico, and Uruguay. However, do not discount the option of a surprise following in the steps of South Korea and Japan at the 2002 World Cup games. Ultimately it will come down to their desire and the 12th man home crowd to invigorate the team that were drawn into a rather unlucky group.

They have shown they can play with the big teams through the Confederations Cup, but ultimately they still lost the games. Additionally they upset many fans by not qualifying for the Nations Cup, something many South Africans thought they could do easily.

South Africa may have some emerging talent in a few players, but lack of big league experience could prove to be their undoing. Expect a close race for the 2nd place spot behind France, in which SA will narrowly miss out.

Key Players:

Steven Pienaar who plays his club games at Everton has impressed many over the past year. He is speedy with a good touch, and has the ability to play in the middle as an attacking midfielder, or to play outside and provide the crosses and assists. Often criticized for not translating good club playing to the international level, the hopes of Bafana Bafana will rest on his shoulders.

Benedict McCarthy is the all time leading scorer for South Africa, and if he is still fit enough there is the possibility of notching a few more. A little past his prime for this World Cup it will be pertinent to outpace speedy defenders, and be the strong man up front to put pressure on the opposition in an effort to create opportunities for the rest of his team.

(Update: McCarthy was not selected for the Squad)

If these two players work well together then South Africa could stand a chance. Pienaar is of a smaller build compared to most players so he will be reliant upon McCarthy’s strength. And don’t be surprised by a few quick goals that catch the defense flat-footed if Pienaar can present a nice throughball for McCarthy to run onto.

My Prediction: Group A 4th Place.

Group A: Mexico

Although they had a week showing in the international friendly against England, the Aztecs are looking to be one of the more technically skilled teams at the World Cup. However, they must use that technical skill to win their games, which is something that could be difficult for such a young squad.

Historically the overbearing packmasters of CONCACAF, they have slowly started to lose their elite grasp from the United States upstarts, however, I wouldn’t read too deeply into this. Mexico is notorious for playing many games using a vast number of different players. As opposed to some countries that will routinely run their starting eleven for most games, Mexico tends to give younger players a chance to prove themselves. This is what leads to lot of average performances during international friendlies. Being drawn into a tough group, it will be up to the top Mexican performers to play as a team. If this is achieved then expect them to be unstoppable in the early stages of the Cup, with a lot of European job offers being issued to the younger players. Defense could be an issue due to an aging Rafael Marquez having to anchor the backline.

Key Players:

Javier Hernandez also known as “Cicharito” is a striker with a good eye for goal. Having already lead the Mexican league in goals he was instantly sent to England to play with an eager Manchester United squad for the 2010/2011 season. He may not start, but would be excellent coming off the bench in the last 15-20 minutes of time.

Andres Guardado is one of my fantasy picks because I think Mexico will be very reliant upon him on the outside. With a great vision of the field and astounding speed he will run tirelessly up and down the flank troubling the opposition. However, he does have a tendency to switch between outstanding and unimpressive. Mexico fans will desperately be hoping he brings his best to South Africa.

My Prediction: Group A 2nd Place.