THE MEXICANS arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday night, wide of both sombrero and grin and intent of relieving the cafes and restaurants around Mandela Square of every last beer. They were in high humour and a source of fascination for the locals.
Their presence was another verification that this World Cup is actually going ahead. The only way the Mexicans can blow their popularity is if they do to South Africa what they did to reigning champions Italy – beat them.
Carlos Parreira was not paying hollow tribute when he described Mexico as the “most daring team in the World Cup” because of their fearless tactic of pushing three players up front and the scrabbling, up-tempo style of their game.
Since the 3-1 loss to England in recent warm-ups, Javier Aguirre’s side have hit a rich vein of form, with Manchester United bound Javier Hernandez enjoying a prolific scoring period (his father quit his job so he could see him play in this world cup after being refuse leave of absence) and Giovanni Dos Santos should start along side him. Carlos Medina came in as substitute to score the winning goal in that prestige victory against Italy and Aguirre has coaxed a vintage show of form from Cuauchtemoc Blanco, the 37-year-old battler whom he lured out of retirement for this tournament.
Mexicans of a certain vintage will recall the wave of national pride that swept through their cities when they hosted the tournament in 1986. But most of this team have little memory of that tournament and will have no intention of acquiescing in the dream plot line for this match, which has Bafana Bafana scoring goals and delighting every African from Nelson Mandela down.
Mexico are proven campaigners in the cut-throat environment of the group stages, making it to the second round in the last four tournaments. They are a tricky assignment for South Africa. South Africa’s tournament might well be defined by what happens here. A loss – and a failure to score goals – will lead to fast and inevitable revision on the decision to leave Benni McCarthy to watch the tournament from his living room. And the faith that Carlos Parreira has shown in those players who have responded to his demands for an improved work ethic will also come under scrutiny.
Bongani Khumulo’s emergence from the obscurity of first division football with Pretoria University to central anchor of South Africa’s defence is a case in point. The 23-year-old only moved to his current side Supersport three years ago, won two titles as captain and quickly rose up the pecking order in the national side as established defenders like Nasief Morris and Mbulelo Mabizela did enough to alienate themselves form Parreira’s circle of trust. His rise to prominence has been startling.
But the national team were going through a miserable slump through the latter half of last year, Madagascar the lone exception in a streak of 11 lost games. That unhappy period of humiliation has been transformed, with a run of 12 games unbeaten underlined by what was a significant win against the Denmark earlier this week.
But can the South Africans keep their poise and score goals in what is set to become the most significant football match in the history of the country? Steven Pienaar will need to carry the fine form he showed for Everton into this tournament and it could be that Bernard Parker, who is battling his way towards Parreira’s idea of fitness, might steal the glory if this match is deadlocked going into the last quarter.
South Africa have targeted this as a must win game in their bid to take South African football to new heights. With host teams, logic and experience often take second place to the force of emotion in the stadium. And it is hard to escape the conclusion that this strangely lit bowl on the edge of Sowetto will be glowing by early evening.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
SOUTH AFRICA (4-5-1): Khune (Kaizer Chiefs); Gaxa (Mamelodi Sundowns), Thwala (Orlando Pirates), Khumalo (SuperSport United), Mokoena (Portsmouth); Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs), Dikgacoi (Fulham), Pienaar (Everton), Modise (Orlando Pirates), Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs); Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns).
MEXICO (4-3-3): Perez (Chiapas); Juarez (Pumas UNAM), Marquez (Barcelona), Rodriguez (PSV Eindhoven), Salcido (PSV Eindhoven); Torrado (Cruz Azul), Castro (Pumas UNAM), Guardado (Deportivo la Coruna); Dos Santos (Tottenham Hotspur), Hernandez (Manchester United), Vela (Arsenal).
