World Cup: Match 1 - South Africa vs. Mexico

After months of anticipation (idle waiting, in my case), the World Cup is finally here. And the opener was not a game to disappoint, despite the mediocre participants. Mexico--a team beloved (and inevitably mourned) by their fans--showed some spark of promise after embarrassing the Italians 2-1 in a recent friendly. As was expected of them, they came to play and dominated the South Africans in the first half. I distinctly remember thinking to myself, 'Even if South Africa is bad, Mexico looks very good.' Indeed, they were good, handling themselves like a world class club pitted against an inferior opponent, the well-practiced cat playing with the mouse that will be its dinner. Dos Santos looked especially deadly. A volley of goals seemed inevitable: South Africa was absolutely doomed. But by some miraculous force--perhaps the defiant buzz of Vuvuzelas like a swarm of angry bees protecting their hive, or the exceptional refereeing that correctly called back a marginally offsides goal, or the lack of killer instinct among the Mexicans, or the heroic acrobatics of Kuhne, the South African keeper--Mexico could not score! And gradually the South Africans shook off their nerves and took some control of the game in the last minutes of the first half.

Of course, if you trusted the commentators, you wouldn't have seen it that way. So certain in their preconceptions of which team was good, so preoccupied with the broad chasm in the rankings, the commentators failed to see in the first half the promise of what the South Africans would deliver in the second. But let's not sling too much criticism their way. After all, they're British: stodgy by custom, owing to the stiff rod that is placed up their bums in their most sacred birth ritual. Though I prefer them to American commentators by a mile, their lack of enthusiasm in enthusiastic moments is hugely disappointing and hides the unbridled emotion that is so much a part of soccer. Compare: "A brilliant goal." "Oh yes, he's done well to put that away." to "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLL!"
(pause) "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLL!" "GOL! GOL! GOL! GOL!"
Spanish commentators feel the emotion of the players. They help you understand (a little) why the players dog-pile and straddle each other! The emotion is just overwhelming. I'd learn to speak Spanish just for the futbol!

So after a half time report that completely overlooked the mixed emotions of the South Africans (who carried the weight of a continent's materializing destiny on their backs) and rather focused on how the teams compared on paper (mostly FIFA rankings with a little 1st half statistics thrown in for good measure), the players marched back out onto the field. And to everyone's surprise except for those actually watching the game, South Africa came out and scored an absolute zinger in the 55th minute. If you haven't seen the goal, GO WATCH IT NOW! (Check out the celebratory dance, as well). It's an echo of the Thomas Lahm goal that opened the 2006 World Cup, with even more juice. And it's definitely going to be one of the goals of the tournament. Look at the build-up out of the South African box, the one-touch passes, the vision. And the strike. It was thunderous! Or as the beloved Zulu commentator Zama Masando puts it, "Laduma" (to thunder in Zulu). It was the epitome of Laduma, shooting right into the top right corner of the side netting. There was absolutely no better shot he could have taken from that angle. I think one of the commentators even joked, "They couldn't have stopped it with five keepers!"

South Africa's keeper continued to come up with big saves, including an especially dynamic flying save on a lively Dos Santos strike destined for the upper right corner. He also continued his unparalleled distribution: punts to player's feet, several break-away passes...this guy is a hero of a keeper. South Africa had a great chance for a second goal on a piercing pass into the box and a great first touch by Modise. But his softness in the follow-up saw the opportunity squandered. It was a shame too: all he needed to do was step between the ball and the defender and goal would have been his. Instead, his second touch failed him. Surprisingly, Mexico subbed in Cuauhtémoc Blanco, the oldest field player in the tournament. And damn was he a FAT dinosaur. With Blanco's huge belly and terrible first touch, I was wondering a long time about the coach's decision. Eventually, he settled down and played a few good balls into the box, I guess. Still, pretty hilarious to watch. It's not every day you see a chubby bunny out on the professional soccer pitch. And with the new form-fitting style of jerseys, you could appreciate every ripple...

Unfortunately, South Africa's inexperience eventually caught up with them, when one defender failed to move up with the offsides trap, leaving 3 Mexican players on sides all by their lonesome, and Rafa Marquez fooled the keeper from point blank range (not that he needed to).

Late in the game, with Mexico closing in (somewhat) Khune stepped up his distribution out of the back and put Mphela through for a 1-on-1 on a gorgeous 3/4 field dropkick. Mphela found the Mexican keeper dead in his tracks in poor position but failed to capitalize due to poor ball control, though he did manage to hit the post.

All in all, Mexico definitely had the majority of the ball and the opportunities, but they should count themselves lucky that South Africa lacked the killer instinct. Fortunately, they won't have to worry about that in their next match either: the French side is as impotent as they come.

Now for some...

FUNNY MOMENTS IN COMMENTATING
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Scenario: South Africa gets a through ball into the box but gets called offsides. The one-time shot is well wide of the goal anyway.
Commentary: "And that would have been the game...had it been allowed to stand...had it gone in the net."
Lesson: British commentators are often just as stupid as Americans, but it's much harder to glean beyond their well cunning British accents.