2010 FIFA World Cup Group A coach Raymond Domenech during the half-time interval. Anelka was subsequently dismissed from the squad, which resulted in many squad members, including captain Patrice Evra, boycotting training in the lead-up to the final group stage match against South Africa. 2010 FIFA World Cup Group A Group A of the 2010 FIFA World Cup began on 11 June and ended on 22 June 2010. The group consisted of France, Mexico, Uruguay and the host nation South Africa. France and South Africa previously met at the 1998 FIFA World Cup; France beat South Africa 3–0. France and Uruguay previously met at the 2002
FIFA World Cup hosts banned in 2002), because there was only one organizing committee per joint bid, unlike Korea–Japan, which had two different organizing committees. Countries that announced their interest included Australia, England, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, Russia, South Korea, United States, the joint bid of Spain and Portugal and the joint bid of Belgium and Netherlands. The hosts for both World Cups were announced by the FIFA Executive Committee on 2 December 2010. Russia was selected to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, making it the first time that the World Cup will be hosted in Eastern Europe and making it the biggest country