For once, the bookies were wrong. The conspiracy theorists who predicted these sides would play for the draw that would put both through were proved wrong long before Luis Suárez was left unmarked at the far post and nodded home to give Uruguay the lead just before half-time. Uruguay and Mexico became the first into the knock out phase after all, if not quite in the manner predicted.
This was no timid affair. Both sides were flying into tackles, blood was spilled and there were chances for both sides before the Suárez goal that left the Mexican contingent checking their calculators and the South Africans in the crowd hoping that salvation might be at hand. Even before the news of South Africa's goals in Bloemfontein filtered through, it seemed the carrot of avoiding Argentina in the second round was enough to inspire both sides to go forward, as their coaches had promised they would.
Mexico, for whom Giovani Dos Santos was bright and Andrés Guardado busy, could have taken the lead midway through the first half when the latter smacked the ball against the underside of the bar from 30 yards. Moments later, a clever scooped cross from Diego Forlan, who was again impressive playing just behind Suárez and Edinson Cavani, was flicked away by the hand of Oscar Pérez.
Slowly, Uruguay took control. Neither side had shown much appetite for a stroll in the temperate conditions, much to the delight of the 10,000 or so Bafana Bafana fans in the stadium. As the second South Africa goal went in, a cheer went up from those who had heeded the pleas of World Cup organisers to make this a "Football Tuesday" and sport their national colours.
The decisive moment came just before half-time, when Cavani swung over a deep cross and Suárez planted a simple header past Pérez. The goal atoned for an earlier miss when the striker, who had been so impressive against South Africa and so clinical for Ajax last season, spurned a decent chance after being put clean through by a slip from Héctor Moreno.
In the second half, Uruguay continued to play tight, controlled football with Egido Arévalo Ríos acting as a robust midfield shield. They nearly had a second when Forlan whipped in a free-kick and a header from the captain, Diego Lugano, was smartly saved by Pérez before Mexico scrambled the ball away.
Uruguay's muscular counter attacking style, which had destroyed the the host nation, was too much for the pretty but ineffectual patterns created by Mexico. As the match fizzled out, and news filtered through that 10-man France had pulled one back, the match began to look more like the stroll that cynics had predicted.
Mexico did not do enough. Bright going forward they didn't show the cutting edge that had sent France spinning into crisis. It was something of a surprise that the new Manchester United signing, Javier Hernández, did not start, with the veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco preferred in his place, and it wasn't until just after the hour that the goal-scorer and man of the match against France was called upon. Blanco, now 37, had looked heavy-legged and the former West Ham striker Guillermo Franco, leading the line, was largely ineffectual. His afternoon was summed up late on when he failed to control a loose ball that would have left him with only Fernando Muslera to beat.
The shame of West Germany's win over Austria in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, which ensured that both advanced instead of Algeria, has cast a long shadow. After that match Fifa resolved to play all final group games at the same time. Here that created a vibrant, nervy, atmosphere, with the crowd split largely between Mexicans and South Africans. It was the small band of Uruguayans who were cheering loudest at the end, however.
Mexico faded in the second half as they failed to break down a Uruguayan back four ably marshalled by Lugano. As the floodlights came on and the temperature dropped, their chances of qualification hung in the balance. There was too little urgency. Their best chance came when Pablo Barrera crossed from the right and an unmarked Francisco Rodríguez failed to get enough on his diving header. Hernández also came close, when he almost bundled the ball home from a Dos Santos cross. Overall, though, they was little to suggest that they would overcome Argentina in the last 16, despite their respectable record against Diego Maradona's men.
As it was, there was no Bafana Bafana miracle in Bloemfontein and both teams progressed. But it was Uruguay, who had to squeeze past Costa Rica in a play-off to qualify, but who now look good quarter final bets, who impressed. For Mexico, Maradona and Messi await.
Mexico (4-3-2-1): Pérez; Salcido, Moreno, Rodríguez, Osorio; Guardado, Márquez, Torrado; Blanco, Dos Santos; Franco. Substitutes: Barrera for Guardado (46), Castro for Moreno (56), Hernández for Blanco (68)
Booked: Hernández, Castro.
Uruguay (4-3-1-2): Muslera; Fucile, Victorino, Lugano, M Pereira; A Pereira, Pérez, Arévalo Ríos; Forlan; Cavani, Suárez. Substitutes: Torres for Suárez (81).
Booked: Fucile.
© Guardian News and Media 2010
