@footballdocumentaries: On This Day - 11 June 2010: Africa hosted the FIFA World Cup for the first time (in South Africa). The opening match at Soccer City in Johannesburg - a stadium shaped to resemble a traditional African calabash - saw South Africa face Mexico in front of 84,490 spectators and the sound of vuvuzelas that generated the tournament's most polarising soundtrack. Siphiwe Tshabalala opened the scoring in the 55th minute - a left-footed finish from the edge of the area after a sweeping team move. Rafael Márquez equalised for Mexico. The match finished 1-1. South Africa became the first host nation in World Cup history not to advance from the group stage. Ghana reached the quarter-finals and lost on penalties to Uruguay after Luis Suárez's goal-line handball denied what would have been the winning goal in the final seconds of extra time. The 2010 World Cup ran from 11 June to 11 July. Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 after extra time in the final at Soccer City - the same stadium where Tshabalala had opened proceedings 30 days earlier.  Today, the 2026 World Cup opens in Mexico City. 16 years later to the day, the 2026 World Cup opens at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City - the same two teams, the same date, but the roles reversed: now it's Mexico's turn to host. History rarely repeats this neatly.  #OnThisDay #Tshabalala #SouthAfrica #Mexico #WorldCup

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Thursday 11 June 2026 10:16:24 GMT