Two former Manchester United stars, Benni McCarthy and Quinton Fortune, were left utterly speechless on live television after South Africa's disastrous start to the World Cup. The pair, providing analysis for Sporty TV, could not find words following Bafana-Bafana's 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the tournament opener.
A Painful Start for South Africa
Mexico cruised to victory with goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez, while South Africa finished the match with only nine players. The South African side fell behind within 10 minutes when Sphephelo Sithole was dispossessed on the edge of his area by Erik Lira. The ball fell to Quinones, who fired a low shot through the legs of goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
Sithole's miserable afternoon worsened when he received a red card for fouling Brian Gutierrez just outside the box early in the second half. Mexico sealed the win when Roberto Alvarado crossed for Jimenez to nod home. Substitute Themba Zwane was then dismissed following a VAR check for seemingly striking Alvarado in the face late on as the duo clashed. Brazilian official Wilton Sampaio brandished one further red, dismissing Mexico's Cesar Montes in added time for a tackle on Khuliso Mudau.
Awkward Silence on Live TV
The grim start to the tournament was encapsulated by the response of McCarthy and Fortune. With both staring vacantly ahead, the presenter asked: "OK, what do we say? What went wrong in this game?" Cue further silence and discomfort before the programme cut to a break.
Despite the evident frustration of McCarthy, who previously coached at Manchester United, and Fortune, who played for the club between 1999 and 2006, South Africa boss Hugo Broos remains convinced his team can progress from the group. The Belgian said: "In a tournament you never have to think too far. We want to survive the group stages and it's still possible. The start was not good, it wasn't what we expected, but we need to get the points in the next two games, and then we will see."
Broos felt the red card for Zwane was "a little bit soft," adding: "It was the Mexican player who blocked my player." The other fixture in Group A saw South Korea overturn a deficit to defeat the Czech Republic 2-1. South Africa next meet Korea in the early hours of Thursday morning UK time.
