The result has left everybody getting their calculators out to try and work out the permutations going into the final round of pool matches, but whichever way you run the numbers, it does not look good for Carlos Alberto Parreira's side.
Although still mathematically in the competition, Bafana now need to hammer France in their final match on Tuesday in Bloemfontein, and hope that one of Uruguay or Mexico does likewise to each other.
A draw between the Mexicans and the Uruguayans would put both South Africa and France out, and the chances of a 'contrived' result are high. The only thing counting against that from a Mexican point of view is that a draw would mean they finish second in the pool and more than likely would then play Argentina in the second round.
Mexico might well think it is worth going for the win and try to top the group, which would means they face one of South Korea, Greece or Nigeria in the Last 16.
One scenario for Bafana is that they beat France 3-0 and hope that Uruguay beat Mexico 2-0, which would leave both them and Mexico on a zero goal-difference, but Bafana would advance on goals scored.
The bottom line is that they need to make up a five-goal swing on goal-difference over Mexico, or six goals on Uruguay, and that will only happen with two one-sided results in the final round of Group A matches.
France is in the same boat, needing to brush aside Bafana and hope that there is a win for either side in the other game.
Qualification is now very much in the hands of Uruguay and Mexico, and how they handle the situation on Tuesday will be interesting to watch.
| 2010 Fifa World Cup Group A | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS |
| Uruguay | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 4 |
| Mexico | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
| France | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| South Africa | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
Image sourced from www.fifa.com
