The Goal for All Africa: When South Africa scored the quintessential FIFA World Cup goal

• South Africa became the first African nation to host a FIFA World Cup in 2010

• Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the tournament opener in the 55th minute against Mexico

• The call and the celebrations that followed have entered football mythology

Akshat Mehrish Peter Drury has witnessed it all. A commentator since 1990, Drury has called events on football pitches the world over that beg belief. You have to be there to truly comprehend the magnificence of a goal, the delicacy of a dribble, the defiance of a save, the heartbreak of a defeat, and the euphoria of a triumph. Drury is, and he often sums up the events that had transpired on the pitch with the poetic perfection that takes his distant audience through the same spectrum of emotions as the one inside the stadium. Drury was on comms when South Africa kicked off the 2010 FIFA World Cup against Mexico on home soil. A raucous atmosphere, the unmistakable noise of a few thousand vuvuzelas having mingled with the roar of the football-crazy fans inside Johannesburg’s Soccer City to create a wholly unique sound, welcomed the FIFA World Cup as it charted its way to the African mainland for the first time in history.

It was a landmark day for both the competition and the continent. Only once had the FIFA World Cup been held outside the peripheries of Europe and the Americas, when it was jointly held by South Korea and Japan in 2002. But never before in Africa. South Africa were among the quintet to bid for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. After FIFA declared Africa as the only eligible venue for its marquee event, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya — the latter two jointly — announced their own intentions to host the event. Morocco had attempted to win the tournament’s hosting rights in 1994, 1998, and 2006, competing with South Africa and Germany for the latest edition, which eventually went to the Europeans. Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, meanwhile, each desired to enter the annals of footballing history with this latest chapter. When South Africa won the bid in 2004, apprehension from outside greeted excitement from within. Turning down external clangour, a delighted nation returned to work, creating, improving, and embellishing the structures which were to welcome the world in the near future.

Almost 85,000 shuffled into Soccer City on South Africa’s, Africa’s, day of reckoning. Peter Drury readied his notes in the commentary box. On the pitch, the South African squad gathered around Steven Pienaar — playmaker, talisman — and channeled their energy into their number 10, their most valuable player then playing in the Premier League for Everton. With bated breath, every individual waited for match referee Ravshan Irmanov to give the signal. At 4 pm local time, on June 11, 2010, Irmanov blew his whistle, officially kicking off the first-ever FIFA World Cup in Africa. A cagey first half did little to dampen the spirits of those inside the stadium; Soccer City buzzed and boomed even if hints of nervousness had begun to show in the local stands, manifesting itself onto the pitch in the South African players during what clearly was a monumental occasion. But the breakthrough was yet to come. It arrived five minutes into the hour. Capitalising on the casualness of a Rafael Marquez pass, South Africa, who were pinned inside their own half, pounced ferociously. Teko Modise played a quick one-two with Katlego Mphela before threading the Mexican defence with a perfectly-weighed pass for the galloping Siphiwe Tshabalala.

Tshabalala, who had sprinted down the left wing from inside his half, took one touch inside the box and unleashed a thunderbolt across custodian Oscar Perez into the far corner. The ball rippled the net, prompting Drury to utter his now-immortal lines.

“Mphela, Modise, it’s a really good ball. It’s Tshabalalaaaa! Goal, Bafana Bafana! Goal for South Africa! Goal for all Africa!” Just as the call from the commentator’s box matched the significance of the goal, the following celebrations added another layer of pure delight to the call. Tshabalala, arms stretched, wheeled away in celebration to the corner flag, where, joined by his teammates, he danced gleefully to the cheers from the crowd and the sounds of the vuvuzelas. South Africa were to exit the tournament in the group stage itself, but they did so after providing the world with a quintessential FIFA World Cup moment — one which begs belief.