Copa America champions Uruguay & Gold Cup winners Mexico prove that South Africa had the true 'Group of Death' at World Cup 2010

Posted Thursday, July 28, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

On December 4, 2009 a global football-loving audience had their eyes firmly fixed on Cape Town, where the World Cup 2010 draw was taking place. At the Convention Centre in the Mother City, dignitaries, journalists, players and coaches convened to discover who the 32 countries - over the course of one month - would face in eight groups, throughout nine cities in the Rainbow Nation.

The excitement of the draw was scuppered somewhat by some of the media complaining about how they believed Bafana would be handed an easy ride to the second round as hosts of the competition, thanks to clever manoeuvring on the part of Fifa, and a place as seeds which would guarantee that SA would not face powerhouses Brazil, Germany, England or world champions Italy in Group A.

As fate would have it, lady luck did not smile on Bafana, and the international media had erred, as South Africa were handed a difficult draw for their own World Cup.

France, Uruguay and Mexico were destined to face the second-worst ranked team at the tournament (based on the December 2009 Fifa rankings), and while South Africans gasped in surprise at the impressive opposition, another set of teams grabbed headlines as the ‘Group of Death’ based on the quality of the opposition.

Group G provided an avalanche of stars on paper, with Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast and lowly North Korea drawn together with mouth-watering fixtures set to light up the arenas of Soccer City and Moses Mabhida.

The focus was temporarily shifted away from Group A, but South Africa had a mountain to climb if they were to avoid the unfortunate record of being the first host nation to be knocked out in the group stage of the competition.

Six months after the draw in Cape Town, it was time for the host nation to fight against their misfortune and aim for a place amongst the 16 best teams in the world.

An opening match against stiff Mexican opposition began well, with Siphiwe Tshabalala’s fantastic strike putting Bafana ahead and sending those at Soccer City into fits of ecstasy. But the team that laughs last, laughs loudest, and a defensive lapse allowed Mexico to score an equaliser.

One point from the opening game would remain the only reward after two matches; as Uruguay showed that they were a team capable of going far in the competition, defeating South Africa 3-0 while completely outclassing their opponents at Loftus Versfeld. This left Bafana with the unenviable task of beating France by a number of goals and hoping for a big win for Uruguay over Mexico in the group’s other encounter.

A determined and motivated South African team took to the pitch in Bloemfontein on a chilly winter afternoon to face Les Bleus, and despite a valiant effort and stunning 2-1 win over the 1998 world champions, Bafana earned the unfortunate dishonour of being the first host to fail to qualify for the second round of their own World Cup.

A nation’s pride was damaged, but at the time the magnitude of the task before Bafana was not clear, and with retrospect is seems that South Africa had been placed in the true ‘Group of Death’. On Sunday, Uruguay were crowned Copa America champions, having beaten favourites Argentina along the path to their South American triumph.

Diego Forlan & Co. made it all the way to the semi-finals of last year’s World Cup, and following their recent addition to the trophy cabinet, it is clear to see that they were one of the best teams in the world at the time.

Mexico arrived into the tournament as a surprise package that many pundits believed would make their mark on world football, and while they eventually crashed out 3-1 to Argentina in the second round, they left a positive impression. They recently went on to win the Concacaf Gold Cup, earning the title of champions of north America, Central America, and the Caribbean thanks to their 4-2 defeat of the USA in the final.

Finally, the host nation had to contend with the 1998 world champions. Internal problems may have conditioned France’s poor run at the 2010 World Cup, but they were still a European powerhouse, and a force to be reckoned with considering the players at their disposal.

Looking back at the 2010 showpiece from the enlightening distance of a year, it is plain to see that the challenge Bafana faced in Group A could not have been more difficult.

Champions of two continents and a former World Cup winner stood in the way of progress in the tournament, and although they did not move beyond the group stage, South Africans can hold their heads high considering the fact that Bafana was only eliminated on goal difference.