SOUTH AFRICA 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP PREVIEW.

Hosted by Denzel and and Sports fanatics who are also East Africa Radio USA fans...remember to predict the match between South Africa vs Mexica and win branded Tshirt. The Bafana Bafana have never won a FIFA World Cup finals match and go into the game with the weight of a nation’s expectations on their shoulders. Hopes have been buoyed by an unbeaten run of 13 games under Carlos Parreira, including notable wins over Colombia and Denmark. Led by the in-form duo of Steven Pienaar and Katlego Mphela, the hosts have not looked stronger in recent years. If their impressive 2-1 warm-up defeat of world champions Italy is anything to go by, the dynamic Mexicans are sure to provide the home favourites with a stern test. El Tricolor offer up a compelling blend of youth and experience, with the likes of Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela dovetailing to perfection with old hands such as Gerardo Torrado, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Rafael Marquez. On this form, they might just break their Opening Match hoodoo. Key duel Steven Pienaar vs Rafael Marquez Much of the Bafana Bafana’s creativity originates from the classy Everton midfielder. His confidence high after an exceptional season in the English Premier League, Pienaar can be expected to shine in front of his home fans. One of the men out to stop him will be Mexico skipper Marquez, who has been employed in a holding midfield role by coach Javier Aguirre. Should the Barcelona stopper fulfil his mission of snuffing out the threat posed by Pienaar, he will have gone a long way to helping his side prevail in this opening skirmish.