Herbert Rachuene Goals from Chivas’s prolific striker Javier Hernandez and the legendary Cuauhtémoc Blanco were enough to give Mexico an resounding 2-0 win over France at the Peter Mokaba Stadium last Thursday. During the 18th match of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, Mexico outclassed the depleted France in all departments. From the onset it was clear that the 1998 World Cup Champions had internal problems, not playing their usually solid game and losing ball possession for Mexico to capitalise on. Supported by passionate and patriotic fans who provided the needed frenzy at the stadium, Mexico lived up to expectations by playing enjoyable football while terrorising the Le Bleu. Lead by influential captain Rafael Marquez, who has just won the Spanish league with Barcelona, Mexico were brilliant on the night. Young and gifted Giovani Dos Santos unleashed a lethal shot that was clinically saved by France’s goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 27th minute of the first half. Then in the 36th minute France again put their best forward, but the Frank Ribery Nicolas Anelka combination did not work this time. In the second half, the game became more tantalising and captivating when Barcelona defender Eric Abidal fouled Guillermo Ochoa and referee Khalil Ghamdi did not think twice about awarding a penalty. It was easily converted by Cuauhtémoc Blanco to give Mexico a 1-0 lead. Their 1-0 deficit did not spur on France at all as they looked more ordinary and sluggish by the minute. Mexican coach Javier Aguirre made a fruitful substitution bringing in the sensational Javier Hernandez for the injured Carlos Vela. Hernandez, who was a marvel to watch, added misery and pain to the French team’s grief by scoring the second goal in the 79th minute to give his team a 2-0 feat. The victory sees Mexico on the second position of the Group A with 4 points after 2 matches. In their first the game of the tournament Mexico was held to a 1-1 draw by Bafana Bafana. Fate will determine France’s success in the tournament as they have not yet won a match. Their 0-0 draw against Uruguay and the 2-0 drubbing by Mexico left them in serious doubt whether they will qualify for the next round.
