South Africans successfully avoided to become the first world cup host squad losing the opening game as Siphiwe Tshabalala scored a memorable goal to give them a 1-1 draw with Mexico on Friday.
The best player of the match gave Banafa Banafa their first goal in the 2010 edition of the World Cup ten minutes after the break, sending Johannesburg's Soccer City and the whole nation into eruption. But Mexico, taking control in most of the time, silenced the tens of thousands of "Vuvuzelas" on the go within and outside the stadium as Rafael Marquez, in plenty of space within the area, beat keeper Itumeleng Khune with a low finish 11 minutes from time.
Hosts nearly created even bigger surprise but Katlego Mphela hit the ball against the post in the 91st minute.
"For the first 15 to 20 minutes, our boys were a bit numb. But we came back in the second half and created a lot of chances," said South Africa's captain Aaron Mokoena.
Hosts' Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira seemed unsatisfied with a draw. "The opening game always puts a lot of pressure on home team. The result is not what we wanted. But the draw is a fair result," said Perreira, who led the Brazilian team to their fourth World Cup crown in 1994.
South African people are ambitious about the national team's prospect in the first World Cup held in Africa. Their president Jacob Zuma said that he was confident the squad would lift the trophy when visiting their training session on Wednesday.
Mexico were the better side throughout and should have been at least 2-0 up by halftime but they were punished for failing to convert a string of opportunities into goals in the first 45 minutes.
"We should have scored in the first half... Now we must beat France," said Mexico's coach Javier Aguirre.
Carlos Vela comfortably converted a corner for the visitors in the 37th minute, which was cancelled out for offside.
Giovani Dos Santos, 21, became the soul of the Mexican squad. He was not far from giving hosts the worst possible start but his strike, after Khune spilled a cross into his way, was deflected by South African captain Aaron Mokoena after only two minutes.
Mexicans kept on piling up pressure as Vela, Dos Santos and Guillermo Franco tested Khune in roll. But Bafana Bafana showed a glimpse of talent as Katlego Mphela just missed connecting with Siphiwe Tshabalala's left-wing cross one minute from the break.
The second half wrote a different story when a superb through-ball sent Tshablala pacing down the left before he walloped a sizzling left-foot shot into the far top corner. He performed a dance to celebrate with his team-mates, accompanied by great outpouring of emotions from the packed stands.
The South Africans were ready to celebrate a win, but Marquez ultimately denied their carnival. He controlled Andres Guardado's cross at the back post and rifled past Khune to ensure the spoils were shared after a breathless opening to the tournament.
However, hosts have left their mark in the world cup history as they've made a first important step to hold a successful event with a smooth start and a fantastic opening ceremony, which featured fighter jets' aerial introduction and colorful Africa-flavored performance.