DESPITE a bittersweet ending for Bafana Bafana, the South African boys still made Africa proud given that this is a very historic World Cup-it is being held on African soil for the very first time. Going by remarks from the South African President Jacob Zuma; “You have done South Africa proud. You played very well. It is sad we did not get to the second round, but it was a big victory over a big side,” it is evident that the morale-boosting 2-1 win over France was well received. Apart from the fact that the organisation down south has been spot on, the 2010 Fifa World Cup has also instilled pride and unity in every African man and woman despite the never-ending critics from the west. South Africa collected four points from the group after winning one, drawing and losing the other. The highlight of their campaign came on Tuesday when they beat France, a team ranked 9th in the world. (We should not forget that South Africa are ranked 83rd). Although even a draw against Mexico was a great effort from Carlos Perreira’s men. The team did well compared to the so-called African giants Cameroon and Nigeria who struggled to find their feet in the tournament. In fact South Africa and Mexico finished level on points (four) but the latter progressed on a superior goal difference. Ends
