South Africa 0-0 Nicaragua: Foster penalty miss proves costly in pre-World Cup friendly

South Africa's first and only game before they head to the World Cup ended with a stalemate as they were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw with Nicaragua on Friday.

Lyle Foster's first-half penalty miss proved costly for Bafana Bafana, who open FIFA's flagship tournament against co-hosts Mexico on June 11 at Estadio Azteca.

Themba Zwane should have given South Africa a 17th-minute lead when he was found unmarked by Kamogelo Sebelebele's cross into the box, but when the ball arrived at his feet, he miscued his attempt as Nicaragua cleared their lines.

South Africa continued to be frustrated by their opponents, but were handed the opportunity to take the lead before the break when the lively Sebelebele was tripped inside the penalty area by Justing Cano.

Zwane handed the responsibility of the spot-kick over to Foster, but the Burnley striker saw his effort from 12 yards cannon against the right post on the stroke of half-time.

Hugo Broos' side upped the pressure after the break but were restricted to shots from distance, with Oswin Appollis and Thalente Mbatha forcing smart stops from Adonis Pineda.

Relebohile Mofokeng's free-kick was then flicked inadvertently towards his own goal by Joab Gutierrez, but Pineda produced a brilliant reflex stop to clear the danger before Jayden Adams stabbed wide as the spoils were shared at Orlando Amstel Arena.

Data Debrief: Substitutes stake a claim for starting spot

South Africa were hoping to give their supporters a winning send-off before they departed for the World Cup, but they were left frustrated in the final third as they failed to turn the chances they created into goals.

The hosts finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.17 from their 22 shots, most of which owed to Foster's missed penalty (0.79), while Nicaragua were only able to muster up a tally of 0.07 from their three attempts, none of which were on target.

But South Africa boss Broos will have been given plenty to think about after the performances of some of his substitutes.

Despite only coming on at half-time, Mofokeng finished with a team-high total for chances created (four), while no player had more shots for Bafana Bafana than Iqraam Rayners' three, who was also introduced at the break.