Slow start

The opening day of the 2010 World Cup turned out to be a subdued affair. Two draws between South Africa and Mexico and France and Uruguay was hardly the ideal start in terms of pure spectacle, although on the plus side it has thrown Group A wide open.

It could have been very different, of course, if Teko Modise had taken either of his chances to double South Africa's lead after Siphiwe Tshabalala put the host nation in front against the Mexicans in the second half.

A Bafana Bafana win would not have reflected the balance of play, however, as it was Aguirre’s team which dominated the first period and they should have been ahead at half time.

Javier Aguirre's team selection was altogether disappointing. Javier Hernandez's recent form warranted a starting place ahead of the ageing Guillerme Franco, who spurned one gift of a header in the first half.

And including Cuauhtemoc Blanco (above) in the squad already looks like a sentimental mistake by the former Atletico Madrid coach. Bringing him on to chase the game against South Africa was positively foolish. The 37 year old veteran looked knackered from the moment he entered the fray and, as the final whistle was blown after twenty minutes of huffing and puffing his way through his second half cameo, he looked like he had swum to Africa from Mexico. Late night bingeing the week before the start of the tournament will do that to an old man.

It was a lack of ambition that cost Mexico in Johannesburg but the second half alone threw up more incident than the whole of the match that followed between France and Uruguay. A 0-0 result was the inevitable conclusion in a match where both teams appeared content to play out a draw.

France confirmed the fears going into this competition that they are a nowhere near the force of ten years ago and will struggle to reach the latter stages in South Africa.

Uruguay also failed to shine, although Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez did show glimpses of their potential as a world-beating strike partnership with their movement and spacial awareness. Like the best forwards, they create very good openings just by being in the right place at the right time and both have the ability to find a shot in tight areas.

Forlan and Suarez have scored over 70 goals between them in all competitions this season but they could not find one here. The notoriously feisty Sebastian Abreu was the alternative coming off the bench when really we were all dying to see Edison Cavani. His chance will come.