World Cup hosts South Africa beat Zimbabwe in friendly

Reuters Africa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - World Cup hosts South Africa won only their second game in 12 internationals over the last six months with a 3-0 win over Zimbabwe in a friendly in Durban on Wednesday.

Using a squad of local-based players who have been on a two week training camp under coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, South Africa overcame a dull first-half performance to score three times in the last 40 minutes.

A 25-metre free kick from Siphiwe Tshabalala opened the scoring, followed by goals from Thulasizwe Mbuyane and defender Lucas Thwala in stoppage time.

The match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium was the first South Africa have played in one of the newly completed stadiums for the World Cup finals.