22 June 2010

The last games in the group stages of the World Cup begin today. The last two games in each group kick off simultaneously to eliminate collusion between teams in ascertaining which teams go through to the next round or not. Four matches shall be played each day till Friday when the group stages of the World Cup shall be completed. The games are played in two time slots, the one at 16hoo and the other at 20h30 South African time.

The first two games today involve the group A teams. South Africa play France in Bloemfontein and Uruguay play Mexico in Rustenberg. Uruguay and Mexico are the teams favoured to go through to the next round. Both France and South Africa would require unusual results in the Uruguay Mexico match to see them through to the next stage of the tournament. The scene was thus set for the events that transpired during the course of today.  

  

The French Sports Minister who was in South Africa was instructed by her president to meet with the team and sort out their problems. This did not help as it became evident that some of their players were either refusing to play or were left out from the fallout that occurred over the expulsion of Nicholas Anelka from the team.

The team selection for the South African team indicated that the coach intended playing an all pout attacking game. The selection indicated that the team were serious about doing their part in an attempt to achieve the impossible. Coach Carlos Albertus Parreira had threatened after the Uruguay match that the South African team was not done yet after that defeat.

Most South Africans were either glued to their television screens or maintaining some kind of contact with the match as it progressed. The fan parks were full of South African supporters. For the scheduled ninety minutes, South Africa would come to a standstill.

The match commenced with the South Africans on attack. I sat in my television room watching the match with vuvuzela at hand. I had planned to celebrate if the occasion for celebrating arose. My immediate neighbourhood was quiet. During the previous game days, the incessant sounds of vuvuzelas were constantly heard. Today there was just silence. It became apparent that the South African team were intent on attacking the French goal. And then the first goal came. I jumped out of my seat, ran in to the back garden blowing the vuvuzela as hard as I could. Nobody reciprocated in acknowledgement or in reply. 

The French player was then sent off. Out I scooted into the backyard and announced this on my vuvuzela. A few minutes later, South Africa had scored once again. The match stood at 2 nil in South Africa’s favour at half time. The unthinkable was occurring. Uruguay had also come to the party. They had scored against Mexico in the dying minutes of the first half of their game. South Africa had now reduced the deficit by three goals. They were on level pegging with Mexico as far as overall goal difference was concerned.

In the second half the team had numerous opportunities of scoring and did indeed score a goal which was ruled offside. If we had a more accomplished team, we would have scored again and again. The opportunities were there to score against a weakened French side. We were just not lucky enough. The French made certain substitutions. Their play improved. Then they scored their first and only goal but threatened to score with their ten man team. The game for South Africa was over as the minutes ticked by. The Mexicans were relieved when the French scored. This was apparent in the television coverage of their game when the reserve players on the bench were seen to be communicating the outcome of the France South African game to their team mates on the field of play.

South Africa was out of the World Cup. South Africa had however achieved something that it had not done before. The soccer team had beaten the French national soccer team. The World Cup shall progress without the team from the host nation. The match ended 2-1 in South Africa’s favour.

Uruguay beat Mexico 1 nil. Both Uruguay and Mexico progressed to the next round of the tournament.  In the late matches that night Argentina beat Greece 2 nil and Nigeria drew their game with South Korea 2 goals each.  Argentina and South Korea were to progress to the next round from the B group.