The hosts were denied by a late Rafael Marquez strike, following Siphiwe Tshabalala's stunner.

"Considering it was the Opening Match, this is a good result for us," said Brazilian Parreira.

"The pressure got to the boys to begin with but then they started to play the ball around and took control.

"This is going to be a tight group and anyone who gets four points will go through. That means we’re still well in the race."

South Africa and Mexico have one point each in Group A as they await the result from the match between France and Uruguay.