24 June - Polokwane - Paraguay vs New Zealand

A LITTLE PIECE OF SOCCER HEAVEN IN LIMPOPO



Watch today's video at the foot of this post.


If you're a World Cup fan, chances are you've got an interest in other countries and a taste for travel and adventure. In which case the concourse on the 3rd tier of the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane might be as it is in heaven for the soccer fan visiting South Africa for the World Cup. On one side you've got exotic African bushveld bathed in a slowly setting sun. On the other side you've got a World Cup finals match being played in one of the most interesting stadiums you're ever likely to visit.

Open on 3 sides and with stands rising high into the Limpopo sky this stadium was built with World Cup high drama in mind. Unfortunately for us today was not the day the builder had in mind. Our fourth 0-0 draw out of 8 games. There have been only four 0-0 draws in this World Cup and, yes, we've seen them all.

The result was forgivable purely because the setting was so spectacular and the people of Polokwane are so damn nice. The result was also forgivable because Paraguay needed only a draw to progress to the knock-out round while NZ needed only a draw to not lose. The All Whites could have qualified with a win but their lack of ambition was shocking. They never really tried. I don't know what they were hoping for as they stood around at the final whistle waiting anxiously for the result of the Italy-Slovakia game. The only result that could have saved them from elimination would have been another goalless draw. Even then FIFA would have had to draw lots to see who went through. I wonder if this was how the football world viewed Jack Charlton's Ireland in the 1990's? Plucky but completely unwatchable.

Great day up at Polokwane.The road from Joburg is brilliant, double lane the whole way. In fact, after driving over 3000 km's in the past 5 days I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that South Africa's road network is better than anything I've ever seen in Australia, the US, Ireland or the UK.

The vibe at the game was great as Polokwane celebrated its last World Cup game. The sense of unity among South Africans that we've seen over the past couple of weeks shows no sign of abating. My sense is that it was the hosting of the tournament, more than the rallying behind Bafana, that has been the real driving force behind the wonderful sense of goodwill you can feel all around. Long may it continue !

Watch the video...