Johannesburg: With the World Cup only seven months away, the South African FA made a brave but necessary move to oust former coach Joel Santana and bring back fellow Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira. That move paid off, and the team now prepare themselves for the opening match of the 2010 World Cup.
Bafana struggled to score goals a few months back, and Parreira has done well to improve that situation, though the side should make more out of the opportunities and possession they have during games. The defence on the other hand, has been impressive, with very few goals conceded thanks to tight marking and good communication at the back, while marshalled by Itumeleng Khune in goal.
The side currently boasts a 12-game unbeaten run, and although a number of those teams were not particularly testing for Bafana, there were also matches against the likes of Colombia, Bulgaria and Denmark in that statistic.
For this reason, and due to incredible support from the home fans, South Africa is feeling confident and aiming to make it to the second round of the competition. Failure to do so would make them the first host nation to fall at the group stage.
Mexico are well prepared
The opponents of the host nation are the surprise package of Mexico, a country with a tradition of football passion and a fair share of good teams down the years. The Mexicans have played many warm-up matches ahead of the tournament, and the preparations have been good for the North Americans, with opponents such as England, Holland and Italy coming head to head with El Tri.
The side lost to England and Holland, while beating Italy, but against all of those opponents the Mexicans proved to be an impressive and cohesive outfit. Talented and relatively balanced throughout the park, Mexico will be a stern test for South Africa, and home advantage will be a necessary weapon in Bafana's arsenal.
Mexico have reached the last-16 at the last four World Cup tournaments and coach Javier Aguirre has set a second-round place as the minimum requirement for his squad of 14 local-based stars and nine from around Europe. Aguirre salvaged a qualification campaign on the verge of failure under former England manager Sven Goran Eriksson.
The Mexicans do not suffer from a lack of support either, with a great number of fans making the journey to South Africa for the World Cup. They will be behind their troops, knowing that two difficult tests against France and Uruguay remain after the Soccer City opener. A coach like Aguirre has experience and will prepare his team well, while the many matches ahead of the tournament would have allowed the team to become more comfortable together.
Form Guide
South Africa
South Africa 1-0 Denmark
South Africa 5-0 Guatemala
South Africa 1-1 Bulgaria
South Africa 4-0 Thailand
Mexico
Mexico 2-1 Italy
Mexico 5-0 Gambia
Mexico 1-2 Holland
Mexico 1-3 England
Team News
South Africa
Itumeleng Khune, fully recovered from an injury sustained in a bruising win over Colombia, will be the goalkeeper behind a back four of Siboniso Gaxa, captain Aaron Mokoena, Bongani Khumalo and Tsepo Masilela. There will likely be five midfielders with Teko Modise, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, Siphiwe Tshabalala, Steven Pienaar and Thanduyise Khuboni set to balance Bafana in the middle of the park. Katlego Mphela will be the lone striker, and will be in confident mood after scoring six goals in five World Cup warm-up matches.
Possible Line-up: Khune, Gaxa, Khumalo, Masilela, Mokoena, Pienaar, Modise, Tshabalala, Letsholonyane, Khuboni, Mphela.
Mexico
Guillermo Ochoa appears the likely goalkeeper with Efrain Juarez, Ricardo Osorio, captain Rafael Marquez and and Carlos Salcido a possible 'El Tri' back four. And the Mexican midfielders in what could be a densely populated area of the Soccer City pitch may be Giovani dos Santos, Israel Castro, Guillermo Franco, Gerardo Torrado and Andres Guardado. Manchester United-bound Javier Hernandez looks a strong candidate to start upfront in a team packed with talented individuals who do not always sing from the same sheet.
Possible Lineup: Ochoa; Juarez, Osorio, Marquez, Salcido; G. dos Santos, Castro, Franco, Torrado, Guardado; Hernandez.
Players to watch
South Africa
Bafana will be looking to Katlego Mphela in the absence of Benni McCarthy in terms of a goalscorer and someone to rely on up front. The talented Sundowns attacker is playing well at the moment, and recently boasted that losing five kilograms during the training camps has made him faster. He will need to use that speed against El Tri.
Mexico
Manchester United-bound striker Javier Hernandez is one of the jewels in the Mexican crown, adding pace and skill to an already aggressive attacking team. He is likely to be the lone striker up front against South Africa, and the Bafana defenders will need to watch him carefully to make sure he does not get the better of them.
Prediction
It is a game that will rely heavily on home support in the 89,000 seater Soccer City Stadium, which will be transformed into a Bafana cauldron for the match. The Mexicans are the better team, but South Africa has improved steadily and are very fit. The home advantage will weigh heavily, and perhaps the hosts can pull off a surprise in front of their fans with a 2-1 win.
South Africa 2-1 Mexico
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