Group A of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

began on 11 June and ended on 22 June 2010. The group consisted of host nation

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and the runners-up from 2006,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. France and South Africa previously met at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, when then-hosts France beat South Africa 3–0. They also previously met with Uruguay at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea an ...

; the match ended in a 0–0 draw. France and Mexico were in the same group at the first ever World Cup in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

; the two nations played the first-ever World Cup match and France won 4–1. France and Mexico had also met in 1954 but neither team qualified for the next round. This is also the second time that France, Mexico and Uruguay have been drawn in the same group with the host nation. They were grouped with

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1966, when England and Uruguay advanced to the next round. South Africa became the first World Cup host team to fail to advance past the group stage after finishing behind Mexico on goal difference. France, despite having made the final at the previous edition of the World Cup, were also eliminated after drawing one and losing two matches, including one against South Africa.

Standings

advanced to play

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

(runners-up of

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...

) in the

round of 16 A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

. *

advanced to play

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(winners of

) in the

Matches

''All times local (

UTC+2 UTC+02:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +02:00. In ISO 8601, the associated time would be written as 2020-11-08T23:41:45+02:00. This time is used in: As standard time (year-round) ''Principal cities: Cairo, Pretoria, Cape ...

)''

South Africa vs Mexico

South Africa vs Mexico was the opening match of the World Cup, held on 11 June 2010. It was described as an "enthralling" and "pulsating" match. South Africa opened the scoring in the 55th minute after

Siphiwe Tshabalala Lawrence Siphiwe Tshabalala (; born 25 September 1984) is a South African professional football player who most recently played as a midfielder for AmaZulu. He is considered to be one of the most well-known and decorated South African soccer pl ...

scored off a pass through Mexico's defence by Kagiso Dikgacoi. Mexico's captain

Rafael Márquez Rafael Márquez Álvarez (; born 13 February 1979) is a Mexican former professional footballer and current head coach of Spanish team Barcelona Atlètic. Nicknamed '' El Káiser'', he is regarded as the best defender in Mexico's history and o ...

equalised following a

corner kick A corner kick is the method of restarting play in a game of association football when the ball goes out of play over the goal line, without a goal being scored and having last been touched by a member of the defending team. The kick is take ...

in the 79th minute. In the final minutes of the match,

Katlego Mphela Katlego Abel Mphela (born 29 November 1984) is a South African retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Club career Mphela, a product of Jomo Cosmos, played in France for RC Strasbourg Alsace and Stade de Reims, both with limi ...

almost scored a winning goal for South Africa, but his shot bounced off the post. Tshabalala was named as the

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. South Africa's coach,

Carlos Alberto Parreira Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira (born 27 February 1943) is a Brazilian former football manager who holds the record for attending the most FIFA World Cup final tournaments as manager with six appearances. He also managed five different national te ...

called the result "fair", while Mexico's coach

Javier Aguirre Javier Aguirre Onaindía (; born 1 December 1958), nicknamed ''El Vasco'' (The Basque), is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager who is currently in charge of Spanish team RCD Mallorca. Aguirre played for Mexico at the 1986 Wo ...

stated "we could have won, we could have lost". First game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, South Africa vs Mexico4

Uruguay vs France

France and Uruguay faced each other on 11 June 2010 at the Cape Town Stadium. Despite a

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or d ...

being given to Uruguay substitute Nicolás Lodeiro in the second half, Uruguay were able to hold a "lacklustre" France to a 0–0 draw. After the match, former World Cup-winning French player

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the mos ...

criticised the French team and particularly coach

Raymond Domenech Raymond Manuel Albert Domenech (; born 24 January 1952) is a French football manager and former player. He managed the France national team from 2004 to 2010, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. He was dismissed after their elimination from ...

for a lack of teamwork. Domenech claimed after the match to be "happy with the overall performance".

South Africa vs Uruguay

Uruguay took the lead in the 24th minute, when

Diego Forlán Diego Martín Forlán Corazo (born 19 May 1979) is a Uruguayan professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Regarded as one of the best forwards of his generation, Forlán is a two-time winner of both the Pichichi ...

launched a shot from 30 yards out that beat goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, who did not attempt to save the shot. In the second half,

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

was left through on goal, but he was brought down by Khune. Referee

Massimo Busacca Massimo, also Massimino, and Massimine () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist *Massimo Ago ...

awarded a penalty and showed Khune a red card. Deep into injury time, Uruguay scored their third goal when

Álvaro Pereira Álvaro Daniel Pereira Barragán (; born 28 November 1985) is a Uruguayan former footballer. After starting out at Miramar Misiones he went on to play for a host of clubs in several countries, mainly Porto and Inter Milan, winning eight major ...

tapped in a Suárez cross.

France vs Mexico

Mexico's 2–0 victory over France in

Polokwane Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Province ...

was overshadowed by French striker

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (; born 14 March 1979) is a French professional football manager and retired player who played as a forward. As a player, he regularly featured in his country's national team, often scoring at crucial moments. Known f ...

launching a tirade of abuse towards coach

during the half-time interval. Anelka was subsequently dismissed from the squad, which resulted in many squad members, including captain

Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French football coach and former professional player. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. His ...

, boycotting training in the lead-up to the final group stage match against

Mexico vs Uruguay

France vs South Africa

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Group A

Group A Group A is a set of motorsport regulations administered by the FIA covering production derived vehicles intended for competition, usually in touring car racing and rallying. In contrast to the short-lived Group B and Group C, Group A vehicles ...

Group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

South Africa at the 2010 FIFA World Cup