By now, the 13th day of the tournament we are almost half way. This whole thing kicked off on the 11th June with an exciting game between Bafana Bafana vs Mexico that ended in a 1 all result. Many believe it was a match we needed to win given the opportunity we got on the 89th minute that saw Katlego Mpela hitting the upright.
Socially we have seen so many foreign nationals from different countries seemingly enjoying themselves here. Many of us were nervous about the levels of crime, thinking that these tourists will be easy prey for criminals, but to date only minor incidents have been reported. Interestingly enough foreign nationals have made themselves guilty of various petty crimes, like stealing cellphones from unsuspecting South Africans. What I find outrageous was an arrest of a bevy of women (suppoters of Dutch team)wearing orange mini-skirts that spotted a tiny "Bavaria" brewery logo. This according to Fifa was ambush marketing, given that only Budweiser was allowed to display its logo during the tournament. I attended the match in which these women displayed these logos, and was sitting not far from them; I can only say they looked absolutely beautiful!
Some have dubbed this a World Cup of upsets, with teams from Western Europe struggling to qualify to the next round. Tonight the fate of Germany and England hang on the balance; if they don't win their matches they will not qualify. African teams have also had a terrible run, with Bafana Bafana booted out despite their first ever win against France. Nigeria and Cameroon are also out. Ivory Coast will need a flurry of goals to go through. Algeria are blowing hot and cold. It is only Ghana that is a very good position to go to the next round.
Teams from South America have done very well all round. They may however cancel each other out during the knockout stages. At this stage Argentina and Brazil look like they can progress all the way. They are free scoring and they look like they can still show us more. If Spain can manage to go to the next round as their position is still precarious, they can also be a force to be reckoned with.
This World Cup is teaching us things we did not know about ourselves. People discovered that you can in fact use a Rea Vaya bus or a train to the stadium, and that our trains can be effective. That we need to invest in public transport so that it responds to all citizens travel needs. That we need to improve safety and security. That we can deliver on time if we know dithering will carry adverse consequences.
Socially we have seen so many foreign nationals from different countries seemingly enjoying themselves here. Many of us were nervous about the levels of crime, thinking that these tourists will be easy prey for criminals, but to date only minor incidents have been reported. Interestingly enough foreign nationals have made themselves guilty of various petty crimes, like stealing cellphones from unsuspecting South Africans. What I find outrageous was an arrest of a bevy of women (suppoters of Dutch team)wearing orange mini-skirts that spotted a tiny "Bavaria" brewery logo. This according to Fifa was ambush marketing, given that only Budweiser was allowed to display its logo during the tournament. I attended the match in which these women displayed these logos, and was sitting not far from them; I can only say they looked absolutely beautiful!
Some have dubbed this a World Cup of upsets, with teams from Western Europe struggling to qualify to the next round. Tonight the fate of Germany and England hang on the balance; if they don't win their matches they will not qualify. African teams have also had a terrible run, with Bafana Bafana booted out despite their first ever win against France. Nigeria and Cameroon are also out. Ivory Coast will need a flurry of goals to go through. Algeria are blowing hot and cold. It is only Ghana that is a very good position to go to the next round.
Teams from South America have done very well all round. They may however cancel each other out during the knockout stages. At this stage Argentina and Brazil look like they can progress all the way. They are free scoring and they look like they can still show us more. If Spain can manage to go to the next round as their position is still precarious, they can also be a force to be reckoned with.
This World Cup is teaching us things we did not know about ourselves. People discovered that you can in fact use a Rea Vaya bus or a train to the stadium, and that our trains can be effective. That we need to invest in public transport so that it responds to all citizens travel needs. That we need to improve safety and security. That we can deliver on time if we know dithering will carry adverse consequences.
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