Tank's Day 1 Summary

Game of the Day: This was pretty easy today. With only two games, Mexico/S. Africa easily eclipsed the snooze fest that was Uruguay/France. Both Mexico and South Africa had several fantastic chances including a long ball in the 89th minute that nearly sent the natives in Soccer City into a frenzy. Quick shout out to Siphewe Tshabala (relative of Bob Lawblaw?) for scoring South Africa's first ever goal in a world cup.

Player of the Day: Giovani Dos Santos. The Mexican wonder child stood out today in my opinion. Despite not netting a goal, he showed the creativity and skill to nearly put one in himself as well as create plenty of chances for his teammates. At only 21, he appears to be a cornerstone for the Mexican squad in the future. His speed and guile will be the difference against a Uruguay squad that showed they are capable of shelling up a very talented France team.

Play of the Day: Definitely has to go to Tshabala's goal for South Africa. A wonderful counter was capped off with a shot that couldn't have been placed any better. Perez had no shot as Tshabala took the correct angle and placed it comfortably within the upper 90.

Almost Play of the Day: Yoann Gourcuff nearly netted a free kick that might have stood up as the goal of the tournament. During the first half, France was awarded a free kick from a side angle a few yards outside the 18 box. Instead of trying to service a teammate inside the box, Gourcuff nearly snuck a direct shot past Uruguay's keeper. Only an alert and athletic Fernando Muslera kept the game at a 0-0 tie.

Impact of today on Group A: South Africa have to like their chances of advancing after today. They survived a first half onslaught from the Mexicans and really put together a nice 2nd half. Even though Mexico probably anticipated 3 points from today's game, I think anytime you can get a point from the host country is a good result. As I'm sure you've read before, no host country has failed to advance out of the group stage in the World Cup. France was the biggest disappointment of the day. Time after time, a Frenchman would find himself in fantastic position but without any support from other attacking players. Neither Ribery or Anelka made a huge impact on the game. Uruguay got a great result today. The defensive scheme worked wonders as blue jerseys consistently clogged any flow the French attack attempted to build, and they came up just enough to get Diego Forlan a couple of very nice chances. With every team getting a point today, nobody will be going home tonight feeling their next game is a life or death situation. However, France will have the most pressure on them considering they failed to punch in a single goal, and with Mexico on the horizon they could find themselves in a massive hole very quickly.