How South Africa, Uruguay, Mexico and France all missed their chances to make history
Group A, as the very first group in the 2010 World Cup competition, should have contained the first team to qualify into the last 16 stage of the tournament; but that was not possible, and a frugal Argentina side was given the opportunity to make history – which eventually, they did. 2010 FIFA World Cup hosts South Africa failed to be victorious in their opening game when they miserably drew 1-1 with Mexico, and consequently, they were unable to begin a 100% record in the contest.
Snatching 3 early points is always an important mission for any team in a major football competition, considering the fact that it widens chances to get automatic places into knockout phases with 6 points on the second match-day. However, South Africa were not great enough to make such an achievement, and hence, with 10 other teams after them winning their first battles in their groups, it was almost impossible for the Bafana Bafana to seal an automatic place in the round of 16 on match-day 2.
Sadly for South Africa, they absolutely lost ground and underwent a harsh 3-0 defeat against Uruguay on June 16, in front of thousands of home fans. This boosted Uruguay’s chances of being the first team to qualify for the subsequent round, but that victory was still not enough for the South Americans to make history, since they drew 0-0 with France on June 11.
As for Mexico and France, they could forget about registering their country in history books, since their match-day 2 game was scheduled to kick-off after encounters in Group B. Obviously, not even a match-day 1 victory for the UEFA and CONCACAF members would have been good enough to give them a vital gift, especially due to the fact that 3 points are never enough in a group to lead to qualification for the following round.
Coach Diego Maradona and Gonzalo Higuain express joy over Korea Republic win
After their 4-1 win over Korea Republic in Johannesburg, Argentina have proved to the world that they are ready to fight and conquer football’s biggest stage. The Argentines had a dreadful 2010 World Cup qualification in the CONMEBOL zone, and they even needed a last-day triumph over Uruguay to salvage precious tickets for their trip to South Africa. Now that they have accomplished the first part of their mission, the Albicelestes look poised to complete it; and subsequent to their record against the Asians, this is what Coach Diego Maradona said:
“I want to congratulate my players for having perfectly executed our game plan (in Group B against Korea Republic). We deserved a win like this because we’d already threatened this kind of result against Nigeria. To recap the battle, ‘Argentina were implacable.’”
Argentina forward, Real Madrid superstar and Budweiser Man of the Match against Korea Republic Gonzalo Higuain also confirmed that Argentina were outstanding. He said that his country could go far, and that they truly deserved a triumph against their Asian contenders.
“We played good football, we created chances and we were organized in front of goal. We were deserved winners and we need to continue in this vein throughout the competition. We’re in fact convinced that we’re capable of having a great World Cup.”
Argentina’s last game against Greece will mean almost nothing to the Albicelestes mathematically in Group B, and therefore, Diego Maradona is likely to field-in a second choice side. In any case, he would be advised not to be comfortable with a draw or a loss, as it could crush their momentum for the remaining of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
