World Cup: Mexico vs. France: Mexico leads 1-0

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Baby-faced Javier Hernandez and ageless Cuauhtemoc Blanco came off the bench early in the second half and combined to help Mexico take a 1-0 lead over France in the 63rd minute of a World Cup game both team have to win to keep the second round in view.

Hernandez scored the goal despite the fact that TV replays appeared to show he was offside. In any case, Hernandez took a little chip pass and came in alone on French keeper Hugo Lloris. He deked Lloris out of the net, stepped around him and pushed the ball into the empty net with his right foot

The goal was a huge one for Mexico, whose coach, Javier Aguirre, has done the math and knew going into Thursday’s showdown in chilly Polokwane that there was only one result that would help his team’s World Cup chances: a win.

Read more about the Mexico-France game.

-- Kevin Baxter, in Johannesburg, South Africa