Thursday June 17, 2010 Group Stage: Group A Finished Peter Mokaba Stadium

France 0 - 2 Mexico

  • Hernández 64’
  • Blanco 79’ (pen.)

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  1. Poor French face early exit

    Poor French face early exit

    France were left staring at the World Cup exit door after Mexico scored twice in the second half to complete an impressive 2-0 win. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • France
    • Mexico
    • 90+3 All over! Mexico are celebrating. A disappointing night for France, but they can have few complaints.
    • 90+3 Into injury time here. All over surely.
    • 89' Three minutes of time to be added.
    • 88' Domenech looked completely dazed as do the French bench.
    • 87' Diaby fouls Hernandez.
    • 86' Mexico content to keep possession.
    • 85' Uruguay and Mexico know a draw in the final group game would see them through to the last 16.
    • 84' Looks all over bar the shouting. France look a dispirited bunch.
    • 83' France have some wonderful individuals, but as a team they have looked poor this evening. Doesn't look like they will recover in this game.
    • 82' Rodriguez is booked for a late foul on Ribery.
    • 81' Mexico fans are celebrating and little wonder. Their team has been outstanding this evening.
    • 80' Long way back for France now.
    • 79' BLANCO SCORES! Cool as you like. Long run and he slips that ball into the right hand bottom corner of the French goal. No chance for Lloris. Fabulous moment for the 37-year-old.
    • 78' Abidal booked for the challenge.
    • 77' MEXICO HAVE A PENALTY! Barrera brought down by Abidal.
    • 76' Poor play by Mexico. Dos Santos can only pick out the French goalkeeper.
    • 75' Mexico win their first corner of the game.
    • 74' Reaching the final 15 minutes. Mexico break, but Bianco's ball is poor with France caught upfield.
    • 73' Gignac thumps a shot miles over. It needs to be better than that.
    • 72' The French bench look cold and concerned. World Cup image
    • 71' Henry is warming up, but will we see him? Seems like the ideal time to bring on the Barcelona forward.
    • 70' Twenty minutes to go and the French coach Raymond Domenech cuts a concerned figure.
    • 69' Great bit of play by Dos Santos. He turns Gallas, but nobody is on hand to tap in as the ball flew across the French goal.
    • 68' Mexico will aim to hit on the counter attack holding this lead.
    • 67' Govou replaced by Valbuena. Still no Henry.
    • 66' Henry looking a bit forlon on that French bench.
    • 65' Can they respond? Ribery standing over a free-kick. Straight to Perez in the Mexico goal.
    • 64' A fully deserved goal. France staring down the barrel of a gun now. They need a goal otherwise they are in grave danger of tumbling out of the tournament.
    • 63' GOAL FOR MEXICO! Javier Hernandez springs the offside trap before dribbling around Lloris to slide into the empty net. Class finish.
    • 62' Marquez shot from distance saved by Lloris.
    • 61' Cuauhtémoc Blanco comes on for the final 30 minutes or so. He replaces Franco.
    • 60' At the hour mark. Let us know who you think will win. Would France still be your favourites?
    • 59' The half-time change seems to have made little or no difference. France still struggling to get their front men involved. Govou has been like the invisible man.
    • 58' Another free-kick, but this time Dos Santos slams that ball over. Really wasted chances.
    • 57' Awful effort by Torrado. That managed to avoid everyone. Straight into the crowd.
    • 56' Better spell of pressure by France, but Mexico have a free-kick in the French half.
    • 55' Lovely bit of play by Ribery. The Bayern Munich forward rattles in a shot from the edge of the area. Punched out by Perez.
    • 54' Javier Hernandez replaces Juarez for Mexico.
    • 53' That was France's best move of this World Cup.
    • 52' Terrific play by Malouda! Great shot from 25 yards out, but tipped over by Perez.
    • 51' Mexico continue to venture forward. Franco gets a header in, but difficult to direct it towards goal. The ball flies harmlessly wide.
    • 50' Marquez finds Dos Santos with a free-kick, but the French scramble the ball away before Barrera hammers a volley miles over. Nice move by Mexico.
    • 49' A few thoughts from you. Sankalp N - Dimwit Domenech. Why is Ribery not at right wing? Why­ is Govou in? Why is Henry on the bench? Stu - is it me or is Ribéry too quiet tonight. and very­ overrated?
    • 48' Still no sign of Thierry Henry being introduced. Juarez booked for pushing Malouda. All a bit silly.
    • 47' Andre-Pierre Gignac replaces the Chelsea forward, who hardly caught fire in the opening period.
    • 46' We are off and so is Anelka.
    • 45+1' The whistle goes for half-time. A highly entertaining first period.
    • 45' Toulalan booked for a cynical late tackle on Franco.
    • 44' Ribery wins a free-kick in the final minute of the half, but a poor effort by Anelka. Straight at the wall.
    • 43' Anelka speeds up field, but Rodriguez took the steam out of that shot before it reached Perez in the Mexico goal.
    • 42' This would be a great time to find the net. Minutes before the break.
    • 41' Mexico on the attack here, but Osorio's long ball is a waste. Easily held by Lloris. No chance for Barrera to reach that.
    • 40' Five minutes to the break. Can't really believe this has not had a goal. France suddenly look like the team that reached the final four years ago.
    • 39' The French fans are enjoying themselves in the crowd. World Cup image
    • 38' Make that seven. Dos Santos narrolwy wide from the edge of the box. Really sharp play by the young forward.
    • 37' Mexico six shots to France's five.
    • 36' Marquez concedes a free-kick after foulding Malouda. Ribery fails to threaten the Mexico goal with his delivery.
    • 35' Heading for the final 10 minutes of the half.
    • 34' Osorio slams a ball long from the back, but isn't going to find a teammate. Wasted ball.
    • 33' France now enjoying 57% of the ball to Mexico's 43 in terms of time of possession. The French have moved up a few gears from the match against Uruguay.
    • 32' Barrera almost has the dream introduction. He almost latched on to a cross by Salcido. The ball rebounds off Lloris before flying to safety.
    • 31' France have a corner on Mexico's right, but that is a disappointing effort. Comes to nothing.
    • 30' Barrera comes on for the injured Vela.
    • 29' Mexico down to 10 men. That could be the end of the tournament for Vela if that is a hamstring strain.
    • 28' Heading for the half-hour mark. Vela has hurt his hamstring. Looks like he may have to depart.
    • 27' All this game needs is a goal. We've had plenty off attacks without a finish.
    • 26' Poor defending by Gallas. Standing too far away from Salcido. The Mexican gets a shot in, but Lloris is alert to block.
    • 25' With Uruguay beating South Africa, a win here is vital for both teams. They are both going for it.
    • 24' That was a great cross by Toulalan. Almost found Malouda.
    • 23' France on the attack here. Malouda almost got a header in there, but Osorio did so well to deny him space.
    • 22' The last meeting between these two was on 27 May 2006 in a friendly in Paris, won by France (1-0). Florent Malouda scored the game’s only goal.
    • 21' Lovely turn on the edge of the box by Ribery, but Mexico had plenty of bodies back. They clear the danger.
    • 20' Ribery doing well in a defensive mode, closing down Marquez. No room for the Mexican captain to start moves from the back.
    • 19' Dos Santos smashes the dead ball into the wall. Disappointing shot.
    • 18' Evra fouls Juarez. Free-kick to Mexico.
    • 17' Salcido uncorks a shot from 25 yards, but he screws that shot just wide. Nice bit of play by the Mexican.
    • 16' The Mexican fans singing in the stands.
    • 15' France have not won any of their last five matches at a major championship. Their all-time low in this respect is seven between 1960 to 1978.
    • 14' Great tempo to this match. Both teams keen to get a win here.
    • 13' Malouda stands over a free-kick after Ribery is caught by Moreno. The free-kick ends with Ribery flashing a shot across goal. No takers.
    • 12' Still in the early stages. France had have three shots on goal to two by Mexico.
    • 11' Superb play by Franco on the edge of the box. Narrowly over. Just leaning back. More promising play by Mexico.
    • 10' Malouda tries to find Ribery, but that ball just evades his teammate. Ribery could have gone down in the box there.
    • 9' Very even in terms of possession. France have 49% of the ball to Mexico's 51.
    • 8' Mexico have pace to burn.
    • 7' Marquez ball over the top, but Vela rushes his effort from inside the box and whacks it over. That was a decent chance with no French defenders near him.
    • 6' Certainly a bright opening to the match. Mexico displaying considerable pace in attack.
    • 5' Awful effort by Anelka. Well over from 30 yards. Franco was initially pulled up for a late foul on Diaby.
    • 4' Patrice Evra wins a corner. Ribery swings it in, but knocked out by Rodriguez. A booking for Franco. Looked harsh for failing to move away from the ball after France won the free-kick.
    • 3' Dos Santos rattles the inside of a post, but he was well offside. Nice movement by Mexico.
    • 2' Whenever France and Mexico have met in a World Cup group, neither side managed to survive that group phase. They'll be hoping for better luck this year.
    • 1' We are underway.
    • 19:25 Teams are in the tunnel. Out they trot. This should be a mouthwatering occasion. Let us hope these teams go for it. Both teams toiled at various stages of their opening matches.
    • 19:20 France are unbeaten in their last eight World Cup matches, noting that the 2006 World Cup final against Italy is officially registered as a draw. This run has equalled a French record (1986-1998). That mark will improve to nine if France avoid defeat against Mexico.
    • 19:15 Franck Ribéry has not scored a single goal in his last 10 international matches, his longest drought playing for Les Bleus.
    • 19:10 Mexico have won one of their previous eight World Cup encounters facing European opposition. They downed Croatia 1-0 in 2002.
    • 19:05 In Mexico's opening match, the 1-1 draw with South Africa, they fielded their oldest ever starting side in World Cup history and their oldest ever player, 37-year-old Cuauhtémoc Blanco. Blanco snatched the record from Oscar Pérez, who had held it for just 68 minutes.
    • 19:00 France and Mexico have met six times before. France have won five and drawn one. Mexico are yet to beat France.
    • 18:55 The referee for tonight's match is Khalil Al-Ghamdi of Saudi Arabia.
    • 18:50 Mexico coach Javier Aguirre makes just one change to the team that started last week's 1-1 draw with South Africa, bringing in defender Hector Moreno for midfielder Paul Aguilar. Defender Rafael Marquez takes over the armband from midfielder Gerardo Torrado.
    • 18.45 Gourcuff looked below par against Uruguay. He lost the playmaking duties to Franck Ribery, with Florent Malouda taking over Ribery's previous role on the left wing.
    • 18.40 France's record corer Thierry Henry and playmaker Yoann Gourcuff are both on the bench for tonight's match against Mexico at the Peter Mokaba stadium. Coach Raymond Domenech has opted for Nicolas Anelka up front rather than Henry, despite his 51 goals from 122 internationals.
    • 18:35 Teams - France: 1-Hugo Lloris; 2-Bacary Sagna, 3-Eric Abidal, 5-William Gallas, 13-Patrice 21-Nicolas Anelka.Evra; 14-Jeremy Toulalan, 19-Abou Diaby; 15-Florent Malouda, 7-Franck Ribery, 10-Sidney Govou; Mexico: 1-Oscar Perez; 16-Efrain Juarez, 4-Rafael Marquez, 2-Francisco Rodriguez, 3-Carlos Salcido, 6-Gerardo Torrado, 15-Hector Moreno, 5-Ricardo Osorio, 17-Giovani Dos Santos, 9-Guillermo Franco, 11-Carlos Vela.
    • 18:30 Good evening and welcome to tonight's live coverage of the Group A match between France and Mexico at Polokwane.

  • Summary

    • 79' BLANCO SCORES! Cool as you like. Long run and he slips that ball into the right hand bottom corner of the French goal. No chance for Lloris. Fabulous moment for the 37-year-old.
    • 77' MEXICO HAVE A PENALTY! Barrera brought down by Abidal.
    • 63' GOAL FOR MEXICO! Javier Hernandez springs the offside trap before dribbling around Lloris to slide into the empty net. Class finish.
    • 55' Lovely bit of play by Ribery. The Bayern Munich forward rattles in a shot from the edge of the area. Punched out by Perez.
    • 52' Terrific play by Malouda! Great shot from 25 yards out, but tipped over by Perez.
    • 38' Make that seven. Dos Santos narrolwy wide from the edge of the box. Really sharp play by the young forward.
    • 32' Barrera almost has the dream introduction. He almost latched on to a cross by Salcido. The ball rebounds off Lloris before flying to safety.
    • 26' Poor defending by Gallas. Standing too far away from Salcido. The Mexican gets a shot in, but Lloris is alert to block.
    • 17' Salcido uncorks a shot from 25 yards, but he screws that shot just wide. Nice bit of play by the Mexican.
    • 13' Malouda stands over a free-kick after Ribery is caught by Moreno. The free-kick ends with Ribery flashing a shot across goal. No takers.
    • 11' Superb play by Franco on the edge of the box. Narrowly over. Just leaning back. More promising play by Mexico.
    • 7' Marquez ball over the top, but Vela rushes his effort from inside the box and whacks it over. That was a decent chance with no French defenders near him.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • France

    Manager: Raymond Domenech

  • Mexico

    Manager: Javier Aguirre

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

    • Starting line-up

      • H. Lloris
      • B. Sagna
      • W. Gallas
      • E. Abidal Yellow Card
      • P. Evra
      • J. Toulalan Yellow Card
      • A. Diaby
      • S. Govou Substitution Out (69′)
      • F. Ribéry
      • F. Malouda
      • N. Anelka Substitution Out (45′)

      Subs

      • T. Henry
      • A. Réveillère
      • D. Cissé
      • S. Squillaci
      • M. Planus
      • A. Diarra
      • G. Clichy
      • Y. Gourcuff
      • S. Mandanda
      • M. Valbuena Substitution In69′
      • A. Gignac Substitution In45′

    • Starting line-up

      • Ó. Pérez
      • R. Osorio
      • F. Rodríguez Yellow Card
      • H. Moreno Yellow Card
      • C. Salcido
      • R. Márquez
      • E. Juárez Yellow Card Substitution Out (55′)
      • G. Torrado
      • G. Dos Santos
      • C. Vela Substitution Out (32′)
      • G. Franco Yellow Card Substitution Out (62′)

      Subs

      • C. Blanco Substitution In62′
      • A. Bautista
      • A. Medina
      • A. Guardado
      • L. Michel
      • J. Magallón
      • I. Castro
      • G. Ochoa
      • P. Barrera Substitution In32′
      • J. Torres
      • P. Aguilar
      • J. Hernández Substitution In55′ Goal

  • Rate Players

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      - -
      Defenders
      - -
      - -
      Yellow Card - -
      - -
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card - -
      - -
      Substitution Out69′ - -
      - -
      - -
      Strikers
      Substitution Out45′ - -
      Subs
      Substitution In69′ - -
      Substitution In45′ - -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      - -
      Defenders
      - -
      Yellow Card - -
      Yellow Card - -
      - -
      Midfielders
      - -
      Yellow Card Substitution Out55′ - -
      - -
      Strikers
      - -
      Substitution Out32′ - -
      Yellow Card Substitution Out62′ - -
      Subs
      Substitution In62′ Goal - -
      Substitution In32′ - -
      Substitution In55′ Goal - -

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