[SOUTH AFRICA-MEXICO REPORT CARD] South Africa held Mexico to a 1-1 tie in a thrilling World Cup opener, but Bafana Bafana will rue its failure to pull off the upset.

After a shaky first half, South Africa came on strong after the break and had the Tri on the ropes after Siphiwe Tshabalala scored in the 55th minute, but a blunder by captain Aaron Mokoena played Rafael Marquez onside, allowing the Mexico star to equalize in the 79th minute.

Katlego Mphela could have won the game for South Africa but hit the post in the dying minutes.

Soccer America's Paul Kennedy grades the players ...

GROUP A
June 11 in Johannesburg
South Africa
STARTERS:
RATING PLAYER (CLUB)
7 Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)
6 Siboniso Gaxa (Mamelodi Sundowns)
6 Bongani Khumalo (SuperSport United)
4 Aaron Mokoena (Portsmouth)
4 Lucas Thwala (Orlando Pirates)
7 Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham)
5 Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs)
6 Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates)
5 Steven Pienaar (Everton)
7 Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs)
7 Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns)
SUBS:
6 Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa)
5 Bernard Parker (FC Twente)

Mexico
STARTERS:
RATING PLAYER (CLUB)
5 Oscar Perez (Chiapas)
5 Paul Aguilar (Pachuca)
5 Ricardo Osorio (VfB Stuttgart)
5 Francisco Rodriguez (PSV)
4 Carlos Salcido (PSV)
6 Rafael Marquez (Barcelona)
5 Efrain Juarez (UNAM)
5 Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul)
7 Giovani dos Santos (Galatasaray)
4 Carlos Vela (Arsenal)
4 Guillermo Franco (West Ham)
SUBS:
6 Andres Guardado (Dep. Coruna)
5 Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Veracruz)
5 Javier Hernandez (Guadalajara)

(Ratings: 1=terrible; 5=average; 10=brilliant.)
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(Soccer America Readers: What did you think of the game? Agree with the player ratings? Disagree? Let us know in the comments below.)