South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena felt his country were 'a bit naive' in their 3-0 loss to Uruguay.
Defender frustrated by heavy loss against Uruguay
South Africa captain Aaron Mokoena felt his country were 'a bit naive' in their 3-0 loss to Uruguay.
The host nation struggled versus the South Americans on Wednesday evening as Diego Forlan struck twice and Alvaro Pereira completed the victory.
To compound their misery, goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was sent off, and South Africa now face the possibility of becoming the first World Cup hosts to be eliminated at the group stages.
Mokoena said: "Uruguay provoked us and we fell into their trap and we stopped playing our football.
"We were all aware about the way they play and what they would be intending to do to us and unfortunately we were a bit naive - that's what happened."
But the stopper is hopeful of a crucial triumph against France in their final Group A game next Tuesday.
"It (the Uruguay loss) was one of those things and it's important that we forget what happened," said Mokoena on
www.kickoff.com.
"We still have a game to play against France and that is important.
"It's going to be a hard game against France. But for us it is about going back to the drawing board and making sure we are ready for France. We have got to show belief."
