World Cup: South Africa Fails to Go To the Next Round

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, June 23, 2010 -- This was always the game that mattered.

South Africa needed to beat France by at least 3 goals -- a veritable miracle against a team that outranked them by more than 60 places. At the start of the match, it seemed as if he miracle was within reach.

The nation stood whole-heartedly behind the team. Streets were quiet, traffic light as most South Africans retired home or to bars to watch the match. Even those still heading home and waiting at bus stops followed the match and cheered the team ecstatically as they listened to radios.

"This is South Africa .. everything about this country is a miracle so if anyone can do it .. we can," one fan put it.

Two goals and the sidelining of France's Yoan Gourcuff after 20 minutes put the miracle was in sight.

The sound of vuvuzelas could be heard echoing across the country when Uruguay scored against the Mexicans in the other match going on at the same time, reducing the goal difference between South Africa and Mexico and bringing that precious second place tantalizingly closer.

At half time, with South African commanding a 2-0 lead, their fans dared to believe that the dream could become reality.

"You know what .. we can do this," said a fan, Thuli, echoing the sentiment across the country.

Sadly, the second half of the game told a different story. A French goal, Thierry Henry's appearance for the team and a solid defensive performance by the French coupled with nervous and patchy play by the South Africans meant the game ended 2-1 for the South Africans.

It was a famous victory over former World Champions but not enough to get South Africa to the next round. Still, many South Africans were proud of their team's performance.

"It's sad because we are not going through to the next stage. But our team played very well, just a matter of a goal difference. Although they are out, today's result will make the [South African] fans feel better," said a fan named Ronien.

Another fan, Azikiel, added, "I think we tried; we played well. It was very unfortunate that we lost, but it happens in soccer. We played well the first half. The second half we were a bit lax, we gave away one, but I think it was a good game."l