2010 FIFA World Cup: France vs. South Africa Full Time Review
The host nation played their last match of the Group Stages against the losing 2006 World Cup finalists. The match ended in a 2-1 win for the South Africans.
The French lined up with several changes in their starting eleven, with the French captain Evra starting from the bench and in doing so making way for his replacement Gael Clichy. The last World Cup match between these two teams was played in the 1998 World Cup; it was the first match of that tournament in France in which the French came out on the top as winners by three goals to nil.
In the lead up to the match there was a lot of disruption in the French camp with Anelka being sacked from the squad and the players revolting as a result of the decision taken by the French Football Federation. The French line up started with Squillachi in the place of Abidal in the center of defense and in the middle of midfield Gourcuff, Diarra and Diaby played alongside each other. Diarra was given the arm band for this game. On the right wing, Raymond Domench started Gignac instead of Sidney Govou, while Frank Ribery took his usual berth on the left side of the French attack. Djibril Cisse started for the French as a solitary striker.
South Africa started with Bernard Parker in their starting lineup as an attacking midfielder. Anele Ngcongoa replaced Siboniso Gaxa at the right side of defense and Thanduyise Khuboni started his first Word Cup match in place of Reneilwe Letsholonyane in the South African midfield.
At the beginning of the first half the French looked much brighter of the two teams. They were quick on the ball and their off the ball movement was much better than South Africa. However their hopes to qualify for the next round took a huge blow as the South Africans took the lead in the 19th minute of the match with a corner. The French goal keeper misjudged the incoming corner as he failed to get a proper touch on the ball to clear it. South Africans took advantage of this and the central defender Khumalo headed the ball into the back of the net.
The French defense looked weak and stretched, throughout the match, and the South Africans took full advantage again of this fragility by scoring in the 30th minute to increase their lead to two goals.
France had some moments of their own during the first half as Gallas almost scored for France at the other end. The French manager tried to inspire his team by introducing Malouda and Henry in the second half of the match. This change paid dividends for the French as Malouda combined with Ribery to score the first goal of the French world cup campaign in the 69th minute of the match. For a moment it looked that a comeback would be on for the French but the enthusiasm quickly faded away and fatigue took over as the French began to look tired with a man down.
The standout player of the match was Tshabalala for the South Africans, his delivery from the set pieces and overall midfield play was uncompromising. His link up play with attack was delightful, giving the French plenty of problems.
The defeat for the French means a disgraceful exit out of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This is their second group stage exit in the last three world cups. They were disappointing to watch as a team because of their lack of goals and absence of cohesive movement in attack. Their campaign was badly marred with in-squad fighting as well as conflicts between various senior players and the manager.
As for South Africa, they become the first host nation ever in the history of the FIFA World Cup to not qualify for the second round of the competition. Even though they managed to win the match, their goal difference means that they will play no further part in the tournament but they can take many positives away from their campaign as a whole in which they played good free flowing attacking football, which was a treat to watch for the neutrals as well as for the South African fans themselves.
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