2010 FIFA World Cup Group A

Group A of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 11 June and ended on 22 June 2010. The group consisted of France, Mexico, Uruguay and the host nation South Africa.

France and South Africa previously met at the 1998 FIFA World Cup; France beat South Africa 3–0. France and Uruguay previously met at the 2002 FIFA World Cup; the match ended 0–0. France and Mexico were in the same group in the first tournament in the 1930 FIFA World Cup; the two nations played the first ever World Cup match, and France won 4–1. France and Mexico had also met in 1954 but neither team qualified for the next round. This is also the second time that France, Mexico, and Uruguay have been drawn in the same group with the host nation; they were grouped with England in 1966, when England and Uruguay advanced to the next round.

The group winners, Uruguay, advanced to face the runners-up from Group B, South Korea, while Mexico, as the group runners-up, faced Argentina, who won Group B. South Africa became the first World Cup host team to fail to advance to the knockout stage after finishing behind Mexico on goal difference. France, despite having made the final in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, also failed to advance after drawing one and losing two matches.

All times local (UTC+02)

South Africa vs Mexico was the opening match of the World Cup, held on 11 June 2010. It was described as an "enthralling" and "pulsating" match. South Africa opened the scoring in the 55th minute after Siphiwe Tshabalala scored off a pass through Mexico's defence by Teko Modise. Mexico's captain Rafael Márquez equalised following a corner kick in the 79th minute. In the final minutes of the match, Katlego Mphela almost scored a winning goal for South Africa, but his shot bounced off the post.

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