Group A

South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

South Africa 1 Namibia 1 in Durban NFL jerseys
The World Cup hosts again failed to convince in front of around 50,000 fans who packed into Durban's Moses Mabhida Stadium only to witness a disappointing 1-1 draw against Namibia, ranked 111th in the world.

South Africa boss Carlos Alberto Parreira did experiment and only called up local-based players, so we shouldn't read too much into the game but still the old problems reared their head with errant shooting a problem. Parreira commented, "I was satisfied with our first half performance half. We created chances but it was our last pass, penetration and shooting that was not correct."

Mexico 2 New Zealand 0 in Pasadena
El Tri's young guns powered them to victory over the All-Whites in California with second-half goals from Javier Hernandez and Arsenal's Carlos Vela.

The Kiwis parked the bus somewhat, but Mexico dominated possession throughout and after a frustrating first-half, broke through with two quickfire goals in the second stanza. Vela's brilliant solo goal was a highlight but he didn't the finish due to injury which is a worry.

Switzerland 1 Uruguay 3 in St Gallen
Uruguay enjoyed a 3-1 triumph over an injury-hit Swiss side, with Diego Forlan leading the way with a lovely volley for the opener before Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani added more.

La Celeste boss Oscar Tabarez would have been pleased with Forlan's leadership in a good Uruguayan performance away from home.

France 0 Spain 2 in Paris
Les Bleus were given a football lesson by European champions Spain after a 2-0 loss at the Stade de France. And the loss didn't go down well with the Parisian public who jeered and whistled their struggling team.

Franck Ribery was France's most dangerous player, while debutant Michael Ciani was okay, but Thierry Henry struggled. After the game Les Bleus manager Raymond Domenech said: “To beat that team (we) must be exceptional. We have not been, although we progressed throughout the game.”