South Africa 2 - 5 Moçambique (393360015)

The weather was pretty good, and a crowd of 21767 had shown up at New Trafford for the match. Heinz Rey was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Assaf Tamuz and Aad Struik. South Africa tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. Lineup: Crane - Lansbury, Mere - Middleton, Mathibela, Vincent, Carswell, Simao - Mwatiwa, Nyoni, Lutuli.

A 3-5-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Moçambique. Starters: Viana - Ceia, Diaz, Vitória - Camboim, Garcês, Terra, Armínio, Lopes Anjos - Fevereiro, Silva.

1 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Moçambique substitution. G. Patrão came on for J. Terra. 1 minutes into the game, Moçambique wanted to bring some new energy to their game. S. Lopes Anjos gave B. Mercês a quick hug as he left the field. Some quick footwork on the left side of the field 19 minutes into the match left Moçambique's A. Camboim completely free to score. 0 - 1 for the visitors. South Africa put pressure on the visitors' central defence 20 minutes into the game, but J. Vincent couldn't find an opening. The crowd was on its feet 28 minutes into the match, as South Africa's M. Lutuli found himself unmarked in front of the goal after a dash up the left side. He calmly put away the 1 - 1 equaliser. 35 minutes into the game, C. Silva almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. The visiting C. Silva was booed thoroughly by the home crowd 40 minutes into the game, after he broke through the middle and scored, resulting in the visitors taking the lead. 1 - 2 was the score. 1 - 2 was the score after the first half. Moçambique enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 57 percent of possession.

After 46 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for H. Armínio who increased Moçambique's lead to 1 - 3. Moçambique's B. Mercês was shown a yellow card after 49 minutes for slicing down an opponent. A. Ceia was, after 53 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper S. Crane made the save. The home team's supporters got excited again when M. Lutuli broke through the visitors' central defence and caught their keeper off guard, making it 2 - 3. After 64 minutes, Moçambique's C. Silva burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 2 - 4. After 65 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave A. Garcês a chance to increase the lead for Moçambique, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 2 - 5. Confident in their lead, Moçambique's players relaxed and focused more on defending the lead than increasing it. Although the whole team were struggling to impress, South Africa's M. Lutuli was singled out as being the problem as he was called off the pitch after 85 minutes. D. Taylor was given a chance to change things around. The bench was restless, and with 88 minutes passed South Africa's coach gave S. Orr the opportunity the player had been hoping for. S. Crane reluctantly left the field. Content with how the game was proceeding, the Moçambique coach let M. Carneirinho replace H. Armínio after 88 minutes. With 89 minutes played, the South Africa coach decided a substitution may help turn the game around. M. Boateng came on, A. Carswell had to leave the fray. Moçambique had most of the ball, with 57 percent of possession.

South Africa's top performer was clearly J. Vincent. L. Simao on the other hand, had a terrible day. Most important Moçambique player was C. Silva. On the other hand, A. Vitória's play was disheartening. The match ends 2 - 5.