South Africa hold Mexico to a draw

A stunning goal from Siphiwe Tshabalala almost gave hosts South Africa the perfect start to the World Cup before they were held to a 1-1 draw by Mexico in front of almost 85,000 fans at Soccer City on Friday.

Tshabalala crashed home an unstoppable left foot shot high and wide of Mexican goalkeeper Oscar Perez after 55 minutes of a hugely entertaining opening match in Group A on an emotional first day of the first World Cup staged in Africa. Mexico, who had started brighter, equalised after 79 minutes when Rafael Marquez capitalised on some poor defending and picked his spot to score.

Although South Africa was denied victory, the excitement of the day, against an endless drone of noise from thousands of vuvuzelas, lifted the mood.

But it was a bitter-sweet occasion for millions who woke to the news that Zenani Mandela, the 13-year-old great grand-daughter of former president Nelson Mandela had been killed in a car crash on Friday night. Mandela, 91, cancelled plans to attend the match which began after opening addresses from FIFA president Sepp Blatter and South Africa president Jacob Zuma who declared the World Cup open.

Mexico took control early on as South Africa made a nervy start with Giovani Dos Santos running the midfield and setting up chances for himself, Guillermo Franco and Carlos Vela as South Africa were forced on the back foot. Reuters