Group A of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 11 June and ended on 22 June 2010. The group consisted of host nation South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and the runners-up from 2006, France.
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 match ended in a 0–0 draw. France and Mexico were in the same group at the first ever World Cup in 1930; 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 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.
Source: FIFA Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria (H) Hosts
Uruguay advanced to play South Korea (runners-up of Group B) in the round of 16.
Mexico advanced to play Argentina (winners of Group B) in the round of 16.
Matches
All times local (UTC+2)
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. Mexico put the ball in the net first, but it was offside. South Africa opened the scoring in the 55th minute after Siphiwe Tshabalala scored with a left foot shot to the top right corner of the net from the left of the penalty area after a pass through Mexico's defence by Kagiso Dikgacoi. Mexico's captain Rafael Márquez equalised following a corner kick in the 79th minute with a shot to the right of the net from five yards out on the right. In the final minutes of the match, Katlego Mphela almost scored a winning goal for South Africa, but his shot bounced off the post.
Tshabalala was named as the man of the match. South Africa's coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira called the result "fair", while Mexico's coach Javier Aguirre stated "we could have won, we could have lost".
This opening match will be played again as the opener for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on 11 June 2026, exactly 16 years later, with Mexico now hosting South Africa.
Man of the Match: Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Rafael Ilyasov (Uzbekistan) Bakhadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan) Fourth official: Subkhiddin Mohd Salleh (Malaysia) Fifth official: Mu Yuxin (China)
Uruguay vs France
France and Uruguay faced each other on 11 June 2010 at the Cape Town Stadium. Despite a red card 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 criticised the French team and particularly coach Raymond Domenech for a lack of teamwork. Domenech claimed after the match to be "happy with the overall performance".
Uruguay
0–0
France
Report
Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
Attendance: 64,100
Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)
Uruguay
France
GK
1
Fernando Muslera
RB
6
Mauricio Victorino
59'
CB
2
Diego Lugano (c)
90+3'
CB
3
Diego Godín
LB
11
Álvaro Pereira
RM
16
Maxi Pereira
CM
15
Diego Pérez
87'
CM
17
Egidio Arévalo
LM
18
Ignacio González
63'
CF
10
Diego Forlán
CF
9
Luis Suárez
74'
Substitutions:
MF
14
Nicolás Lodeiro
65' 81'
63'
FW
13
Sebastián Abreu
74'
MF
8
Sebastián Eguren
87'
Manager:
Óscar Tabárez
GK
1
Hugo Lloris
RB
2
Bacary Sagna
CB
5
William Gallas
CB
3
Eric Abidal
LB
13
Patrice Evra (c)
12'
DM
14
Jérémy Toulalan
68'
CM
8
Yoann Gourcuff
75'
CM
19
Abou Diaby
RW
10
Sidney Govou
85'
LW
7
Franck Ribéry
19'
CF
21
Nicolas Anelka
72'
Substitutions:
FW
12
Thierry Henry
72'
MF
15
Florent Malouda
75'
FW
11
André-Pierre Gignac
85'
Manager:
Raymond Domenech
Man of the Match: Diego Forlán (Uruguay)
Assistant referees: Toru Sagara (Japan) Jeong Hae-sang (South Korea) Fourth official: Joel Aguilar (El Salvador) Fifth official: William Torres (El Salvador)
South Africa vs Uruguay
Uruguay took the lead in the 24th minute, when Diego Forlán 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 was left through on goal, but he was brought down by Khune. Referee Massimo Busacca awarded a penalty and showed Khune a red card. Deep into injury time, Uruguay scored their third goal when Álvaro Pereira tapped in a Suárez cross. This was Uruguay's first World Cup win since 1990.
Assistant referees: Matthias Arnet (Switzerland) Francesco Buragina (Switzerland) Fourth official: Wolfgang Stark (Germany) Fifth official: Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)
France vs Mexico
Mexico's 2–0 victory over France in Polokwane (being the first Mexican win against a World Champion's team in a World Cup) was overshadowed by French striker Nicolas Anelka launching a tirade of abuse towards coach Raymond Domenech during the half-time interval. Anelka was subsequently dismissed from the squad, which resulted in many squad members, including captain Patrice Evra, boycotting training in the lead-up to the final group stage match against South Africa.
France
0–2
Mexico
Report
Hernández 64'
Blanco 79' (pen.)
Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane
Attendance: 35,370
Referee: Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)
France
Mexico
GK
1
Hugo Lloris
RB
2
Bacary Sagna
CB
5
William Gallas
CB
3
Eric Abidal
78'
LB
13
Patrice Evra (c)
CM
14
Jérémy Toulalan
45+1'
CM
19
Abou Diaby
RW
10
Sidney Govou
69'
AM
7
Franck Ribéry
LW
15
Florent Malouda
CF
21
Nicolas Anelka
46'
Substitutions:
FW
11
André-Pierre Gignac
46'
MF
20
Mathieu Valbuena
69'
Manager:
Raymond Domenech
GK
1
Óscar Pérez
RB
5
Ricardo Osorio
CB
15
Héctor Moreno
49'
CB
2
Francisco Javier Rodríguez
82'
LB
3
Carlos Salcido
DM
4
Rafael Márquez (c)
CM
16
Efraín Juárez
48'
55'
CM
6
Gerardo Torrado
RW
17
Giovani dos Santos
LW
11
Carlos Vela
31'
CF
9
Guillermo Franco
4'
62'
Substitutions:
MF
7
Pablo Barrera
31'
FW
14
Javier Hernández
55'
FW
10
Cuauhtémoc Blanco
62'
Manager:
Javier Aguirre
Man of the Match: Javier Hernández (Mexico)
Assistant referees: Hassan Kamranifar (Iran) Saleh Al Marzouqi (United Arab Emirates) Fourth official: Peter O'Leary (New Zealand) Fifth official: Matthew Taro (Solomon Islands)
Mexico vs Uruguay
Mexico
0–1
Uruguay
Report
Suárez 43'
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg
Attendance: 33,425
Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)
Mexico
Uruguay
GK
1
Óscar Pérez
RB
5
Ricardo Osorio
CB
2
Francisco Javier Rodríguez
CB
15
Héctor Moreno
57'
LB
3
Carlos Salcido
RM
6
Gerardo Torrado
CM
4
Rafael Márquez
LM
18
Andrés Guardado
46'
AM
17
Giovani dos Santos
AM
10
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (c)
63'
CF
9
Guillermo Franco
Substitutions:
MF
7
Pablo Barrera
46'
MF
8
Israel Castro
86'
57'
FW
14
Javier Hernández
77'
63'
Manager:
Javier Aguirre
GK
1
Fernando Muslera
RB
16
Maxi Pereira
CB
2
Diego Lugano (c)
CB
6
Mauricio Victorino
LB
4
Jorge Fucile
68'
DM
15
Diego Pérez
RM
17
Egidio Arévalo
LM
11
Álvaro Pereira
77'
AM
10
Diego Forlán
CF
9
Luis Suárez
85'
CF
7
Edinson Cavani
Substitutions:
DF
19
Andrés Scotti
77'
MF
20
Álvaro Fernández
85'
Manager:
Óscar Tabárez
Man of the Match: Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
Assistant referees: Gábor Erős (Hungary) Tibor Vámos (Hungary) Fourth official: Martin Hansson (Sweden) Fifth official: Stefan Wittberg (Sweden)
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