Finally, after four long years, the greatest tournament on earth has arrived!
It was clear from the moment the opening ceremony ended that South Africa had been waiting for this, as the rainbow nation erupted into rainbow elation.
Expectations running high, Africa’s cup of hope kicked off on Friday. Game two of Day 1 of the month long football extravaganza saw Uruguay hold France to a goalless draw at the Green Point Stadium in Capetown.
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France, as expected, went in with the 4-5-1 formation with Franck Ribery and Sidney Govou supporting lone forward Nicolas Anelka (playing his first World Cup game). Barcelona star Thierry Henry was left out of the starting eleven, only to come on as a substitute in the 72nd minute.
After a nervy start by both the sides, the French received the first jolt when captain Patrice Evra was booked in the 12th minute for pulling down midfielder Diego Perez as he tried to sprint clear down the right flank.
You could feel the tension rising when Uruguayan ace Diego Forlan decided to test 23-year-old French stopper Lloris with a well struck 20 yard strike in the 17th minute. But, the keeper was up to the task.
There were more blues in store for Ramond Domenech’s side as Franck Ribery was shown a yellow in the 19th.
However, France dominated most of the first half and Uruguay, who looked surprisingly timid and jittery, would have been more than happy to complete the 45 minutes goalless.
The second half got off to an even quieter start with neither manager making any tactical changes.
Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez made the first move, bringing on 21-year-old Nicolas Lodeiro (6 goals in qualifiers) for Ignacio Gonzalez. However, the Ajax hitman had a night to forget, becoming the first player to be sent off in the 81st minute.
Domenech tried to shake things up by bringing on Florent Malouda (75th) and Andre-Pierre Gignac (85th), but it was just a case of too little, too late.
The result marks a disappointing outing for France, who have come into the tournament in a bid to prove that the qualification process is meaningless as long as you can perform during the mega-event. The side had a disastrous Euro 2008 and has failed to ignite the same spark that saw them go through till the finals of the 2006 World Cup.
If the Les Blues do somehow fail to qualify for the knock-outs, some would possibly term it poetic justice, after what Thierry Henry did to the Irish in the qualifiers.
