20 June - Nelspruit - Italy vs New Zealand

AT LAST...WE'VE STRUCK GOALS

ENJOY THE SLIDESHOW..........AND TAKE PART IN OUR WORLD CUP POLL AT THE FOOT OF THIS POST.

There was a real sense of achievement about being at Mbombela Stadium today. Not because this is the most outlying of all 10 World Cup Stadiums (along with Polokwane);  not because it had taken us such a very, very long time to get here from Cape Town; but rather because at long last we struck goal(s) !

Clearly we did need to move up-country to see the net bulge. Today we saw it happen twice in a thoroughly entertaining 1-1 shock draw between Italy and New Zealand. We've broken our duck and, because successful people recover quickly, there's no stopping us now, beginning with Spain vs Honduras tomorrow night at Ellis Park. A hatful of goals on the cards there we reckon.

We arrived in Nelspruit at 11.30 this morning, 27 hours after leaving Cape Town, 21 of which were spent in the car. We got up at 12 midnight in Colesberg this morning/ last night and it was always going to be a test of endurance to get to Nelspruit by midday. 1750 kilometres since 9am on Saturday. And all so we could stay in Cape Town on Friday night to see the England vs Algeria match.

Thankfully all went well and we descended into the significantly warmer lowveld with a sense of excitement and relief. Last night in Colesberg was so cold it was obscene. Joburg and surrounds was hardly any better at sunrise this morning with a thick layer of fog blanketing everything.

Nelspruit has always been one of my favourite towns in South Africa. Colourful, sleepy and warm, this is one of those places you always look forward to arriving in. Except that, today, colourful, sleepy and warm Nelspruit was hosting a World Cup Finals match.

Nelspruit did itself proud today. Transport to and from the stadium was ample and great. The fan fest was very well organised if a little under-attended for the lunchtime game. The people we met were fantastic. Thanks to Wayne and Monica, two locals (but total strangers to us) who saw us asking for directions at the park-and-ride centre and quickly whisked us off to our guest house in their own car.



But head and shoulders above everything else was the stadium.  Granted, the landscaping outside Mbombela Stadium is not finished and the stadium looks completely surreal from the outside. It really is like a space ship which landed in the middle of the veld and then tried to be all inconspicuous about it. But once inside I guarantee that you will be captivated by this incredibly compact and atmospheric arena. It's a really unique design and takes its visual cues from the nearby Kruger Park. The stadium's external support pillars are shaped like giraffes facing off into the bush. Meanwhile the colour scheme of the seating is pure zebra. It's worth getting to Mbombela stadium a bit early just to see the seating.

On the downside the security coming into the stadium is a bit lax. It's great from the point of view of speed of access but not exactly a deterrent to someone intent on causing trouble.

Still, that's what makes Nelspruit such a pleasure to visit. They don't take life too seriously but they know how to get the job done. The whole operation at Mbombela Stadium is relaxed and makes Cape Town Stadium look very serious.

So we've struck goals and our goalless draw duck is broken. However, as Dylan pointed out, we have yet to see a team win a game ......or lose one for that matter. 4 games.....4 draws. What odds a 5th between Spain and Honduras tomorrow night ? Non-existent, I would suggest.