World Cup Preview: A Look at South Africa

Posted on | January 4, 2010 | 2 Comments

South Africa will host the 2010 World Cup and they got into the tournament with an automatic qualification for being the hosts. However, this team will have a very hard time making it past the first round. They are in Group A along with France, a team that was the runner up in the 2006 World Cup, Mexico, an experienced team and a traditional powerhouse, and Uruguay, a team that has won the World Cup twice.

South Africa will open-up against Mexico and that one game will tell whether South Africa can advance past the first round. Mexico will be a formidable opponent but South Africa proved that they can play with the best teams in the world. Last year at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa played right along with Brazil in the semi-finals and then with Spain the in the third place game.

The entire Group A is really interesting because it’s tough to pick out a clear favorite. Sure France is an easy pick to win the group. However, they’ve been up and down. They were especially shaky with their away matches. Uruguay is a talented team but they are pretty young. And Mexico has faltered in the second round of recent World Cups.

So, why can’t South Africa take advantage of being the host team and make a run into the second round or beyond? They certainly can. But they will have to get a little lucky along the way.

The most dynamic player for South Africa has to be midfielder Steven Pienaar. Keep an eye on Aaron Mokoena too. These 2 players have world class talent. And they may very well propel South Africa through the group stage.

But it’s not likely to happen. Most likely South Africa will finish last in Group A. But again, if they can come out and get an early win against Mexico, all bets are off. In that case, South Africa could make some noise in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Related posts:

1. World Cup: Previewing Mexico
2. South Africa vs Netherlands 2011 preview- World Cup
3. India vs South Africa betting preview- World Cup 2011
4. South Africa vs Mexico preview- Group A
5. South Africa vs Uruguay preview- Group A

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