World Cup 2010: Uruguay beats South Africa, 3-0

By Liz Clarke

Washington Post Staff Write

All day long families cooked in Soweto so they could celebrate together in victory or weep together over a loss following South Africa's all-important match against two-time World Cup champion Uruguay.

On a national day of remembrance, Bafana Bafana did its best to deliver cause for celebration but were shut out, 3-0, by a superior South American squad that seized control early and never relented.

It was Uruguay's star forward, Diego Forlan, 31-year-old, who scored the first two goals for his country. His first came 24 minutes into Wednesday's match at Loftus Versfeld Stadium; the other on a penalty at 80 minutes after a red card sent off South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.

Forlan's first goal, from roughly 30 yards out, was a huge wallop at the ball that clipped the right shoulder of South African captain Aaron Mokoena as it soared toward the net. But the contact wasn't enough to deter its flight path, and it easily cleared Khune, who had stepped forward in defense.

It was essential that South Africa score points with either a victory or a draw Wednesday, after all four teams in Group A played to a tie in their opening match.

The host nation has never failed to reach the final 16 in the 32-team World Cup. And Wednesday's defeat vastly complicated South Africa's prospects of keeping that streak intact.

When the hosts play their final first-round game against France on Tuesday, they'll not only be without Khune but also without starter Kagisho Dikgacoi, who'll sit out after picking up his second yellow card in as many games. They'll also be without the momentum they've enjoyed to date, with Wednesday's defeat snapping what had been a streak of 13 matches without a loss.
Forlan raced around the pitch after his first-half goal, arms outstretched, as teammates mobbed him following the spectacular right-footed blast. The South African noisemakers fell silent in momentary disbelief, then picked up again once fans grasped that their team, and their nation, faced a deficit that had to be overcome.

But matters only got worse when Khune was red-carded over a foul against Uruguay forward Luis Suarez, who is known for his dramatics. As Suarez charged the goal, threatening to score, Khune slid forward, legs outstretched, and Suarez went tumbling.

That brought South Africa's back-up goalkeeper Moneeb Josephs off the bench stone cold. And Josephs flashed a broad smile as he prepared to face a penalty shot against Forlan, a two-time Golden Boot winner. Forlan showed no empathy, blasting the ball high and into the back of the net over Josephs.

With victory already well in hand, Alvaro Pereira added a third goal in stoppage time, with Suarez feeding him the ball on a well placed, arcing cross. Pereira headed it off his knee and into the net.

Across South Africa, Wednesday marked the 34th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, which erupted June 16, 1976 amid what started as a peaceful protest by more than 20,000 schoolchildren in the squalid, racially segregated township.

They marched in protest of a government mandate that instruction be delivered in Afrikaans, which, in the words of Desmond Tutu was viewed as "the language of the oppressor" in the brutal era of apartheid. Police officers fired on the students, killing 23. Hundreds more were killed in the days that followed, and the conflict and setting off the Soweto Uprising that galvanized the anti-apartheid movement and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of South African activists.

And the students' courage and sacrifice is commemorated each June 16, designated at Youth Day.

Explained Thabang Matsoko, 30, a lifelong resident of Soweto, who planned to watch Wednesday's game with family and friends: "It is for the people who fought for us to get a better education, for the people who fought for us to get us freedom, and for those who are not here. For their sacrifice, we give thanks."
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