The opening day is behind us then with both matches ending in the same outcome but taking very different paths to get there. While South Africa’s 1-1 draw with Mexico provided plenty of vibrancy and attractive football, memories of this were quickly extinguished by a stifled 0-0 draw between France and Uruguay. At least the McDonald’s Fantasy game gave us plenty to talk about with their rule turnaround that followed the relief of the final whistle…

Although both Steven Pienaar and scorer Siphiwe Tshabalala grabbed the majority of the plaudits, the host nation’s performance was built on a platform provided by defensive midfielders Reneilwe Letsholonyane and Fulham’s Kagisho Dikgacoi. Letsholonyane came out of the game with two defensive points and some impressive stats. He made the most passes in the South African lineup and completed over 90% as well as winning three defensive tackles. Dikgacoi meanwhile emerged with a 97% pass completion stat, including two key passes that led to attempts on goal. Two clearances and a successful tackle also combined to earn him a defensive bonus in the McDonalds/FIFA game.

For the Mexicans it was largely Spurs flop Giovani dos Santos who caught the eye. He knitted together much of their fluid passing playing just in front of the two strikers – Guillermo Franco and Carlos Vela. Dos Santos earned three attacking bonus points from the McDonalds/FIFA game and unlocked the door three times with passes that led to efforts on goal. Defensively full-back Carlos Salcido starred with a couple of defensive bonus points from four tackles won although centre-back Ricardo Osorio also put in a solid performance. Mexico’s skipper Rafael Márquez put in a decent shift in a defensive midfield role, he came out of yesterday’s game with the highest points tally courtesy of his equalising goal. Marquez, classified as a defender across the games and Dos Santos will likely come out of this game having earned some new Fantasy suitors. They sit comfortably in the mid-price bracket at 5.5 and 6.0 respectively and, along with South Africa’s scorer Siphiwe Tshabalala, they top the McDonald’s/FIFA game rankings for “Transferred In” from the players in action so far.

Standout performers are harder to find amongst the dire France vs Uruguay encounter. Not surprisingly it’s defenders who earned the bulk of the points courtesy of clean sheets – four Uruguay players also returned two defensive points to boost their tallies with skipper Diego Lugano the pick of the bunch, while four saves from keeper Fernando Muslera made him yesterday’s top scorer overall. Statistically it was Bacary Sagna who performed for France with a pair of defensive bonus points and an attacking bonus.

Raymond Domenech’s side certainly had the better of the game with Uruguay’s passing letting them down on plenty of occasions but it’s fair to say that neither South Africa nor Mexico will be too worried about their next fixtures having witnessed this match. It’s also unlikely that any Fantasy Manager will be scanning the French squad for talent in preparation for the next round of matches. Indeed, of all the players in action yesterday, Frank Ribery has suffered the most “Transfers Out” in this round so far.