Fortune smiles on South Africa

Paraguay 2-2 South Africa

A last-minute blunder by Paraguayan second-choice keeper Ricardo Tavarelli allowed Quinton Fortune to snatch a 2-2 draw for South Africa from the penalty spot as group B kicked off in Busan.

Paraguay's most renowned footballer, number one stopper Jose Luis Chilavert, is famous for scoring penalties, but in his absence through suspension Tavarelli only managed to concede one.

With the clock running down and a well-deserved win seemingly in the bag, South Africa's man-of-the-match Sibusiso Zuma hared into the box and drew first the keeper off his line, and then a foul. Fortune accepted the gift gladly.

Spain are red-hot favourites to win this group, but few have been willing to pick a qualifier from the South Americans, South Africa and Srecko Katanec's Slovenia.

For much of today, it looked as though Paraguay should be the punters' pick, and the bleached-locked Zuma excepted, the game's outstanding performers were all theirs.

Francisco Arce's on-a-sixpence dead-ball delivery was particularly eye-catching, while the presence and power of Bayern Munich's Roque Santa Cruz was a constant source of panic to Lucas Radebe and his defensive marshals.

It was no coincidence that both made the scoresheet, and even before Santa Cruz's 39th-minute opener, headed into an empty net after Arce's set-piece had confounded Andre Arendse, both had South African hearts in South African mouths.

The same hearts sank ten minutes after the break when Arce curtailed the beginnings of a Bafana Bafana comeback with a beautiful arcing free-kick which beat Tavarelli via the underside of the crossbar.