Local Mexican fans disappointed by draw
They weren't all that pleased with their team's match against South Africa.
If you're just about anyone on the planet today, you've got the name "Tshabalala" rolling off your tongue. South African winger Siphiwe scored a brilliant goal, and Univision play-by-play man Pablo Ramirez was quite literally singing his praises all morning.
The strike by Tshabalala - or should I say "Tshabalala Ooh!" as Ramirez did - produced a "GOLAZO" call that lasted a full ten seconds. I haven't been able to find the clip on YouTube yet, but if you do, please email me. It was spectacular.
Unless you're a Mexico fan, that is. For them, El Tri's 1-1 draw with Bafana Bafana had to be a bit disappointing. Mexico had tons of possession, but never got its attack really going untl late in the game. It took central defender Rafael Marquez coming forward on a free kick to finally get a ball in the net in the 79th minute.
Mexico has so much firepower that surely it should be able to score more than one goal a game. But today's result brings back memories of four years ago, when El Tri also struggled to get its attack in gear.
Nonetheless, you have to give credit to South Africa. It took them a while to get going, but they were full of spirit in the second half especially.
After the game, I talked with a number of Mexican fans who watched the game. As you'll see in the video below, they weren't all that pleased with what they saw. But many of them also accepted that playing the home team presented a unique challenge.
Tomorrow, I'll be at PPL Park for the big U.S.-England viewing party. Join me for a live chat starting at around 2 p.m. It should be quite the occasion.
Oh, in case you were wondering: I have nothing to say about the France-Uruguay game. A scoreless draw like that doesn't deserve our attention.