South Africa vs France, Bloemfontein: Hosts bow out on a high

France exited the World Cup in the worst fashion when they lost 2-1 to a sprightly and confident South African side at Bloemfontein in the evening today. From early stages in the match, the ‘Bafana Bafana’ were looking for scoring opportunities lead by the ever-enthusiastic Siphiwe Tshabalala. A red card for France’s Bourcuff early in the match further dented their morale, and they could not recover. Both the teams are officially knocked out of the tournament after Uruguay and Mexico’s match that happened simultaneously. Though Mexico lost by a goal to nil, Uruguay and Mexico both go through to the round of sixteen.

South Africa created countless chances throughout the match. For most part, France struggled to keep up pace with the hosts. The first goal came in the 20^th minute, off a pass by Tshabalala and headed in by Khumalo. In the 25^th minute, there was another great run that was undetected by the French defence and the shot for goal was juts wide. A couple of minutes further later, French Number 8 Bourcuff was sent off for handling a player badly in their own penalty area. He had jumped up to meet an aerial cross but his hand almost badly slapped another South African player marking him. The accident may have been unintentional but should not have gone unpunished, as the referee thought. It was going from bad to worse for the 1998 Champions and runners-up in the last edition.

tshabalala: kept applying pressure on French defence all the time

Nearing the 40^th minute, after another round of relentless attack by the home team, South Africa finally claimed their second goal – scrappy though it was. South African defender Tsepo Masilela pushed a ball in into the French penalty area which ricocheted off Abu Diaby further towards the direction of the French goalpost. In the confusion, it was tucked into the net by Katlego Mphela. It seemed there would be no end for French humiliation, and that South Africa might actually create a chance for them for the next round. Just seconds later another ball reached the French net, but this time it was offside.

Four minutes after the break, the African side was denied a three-goal advantage by the goalpost. This time a great penetrative ball by Tshabalala found Mphela again who had just got the keeper to negotiate with. He curled his shot which hit the post and out. France had a rare chance then missed by Gabriel Cisse. Cisse then was substituted for Henry in the hope that France might pull something back. Another great long range strike was saved brilliantly by French keeper Hugo Lloris. Then in an unexpected turn of events, France scored. French defender Sagna conjured a great pass which fell to Ribery to the left of penalty area, who gave the ball to Malouda to tuck the ball in to an empty goal. It all happened in quick fluid motion and from then on France finally found their feet and occasionally looked menacing. South Africa missed another great opportunity in the 92^nd minute which had Tshabalala to deal with the keeper alone, but again it was saved.

The hosts exited the tournament on a high. It was a fantastic performance by them as they kept a great team like France on the backfoot. They definitely gave their fans something to cheer about on their way out of this World Cup. On the other hand, it has been an indifferent World Cup at the least for the French, who could not get anything right on and off the field.