In front of a crowd of 3,253 – pretty weak for an international, even a friendly – Iceland pulls off the surprise win, 1-0.

I was honestly looking forward to this game for the past month, as it is one of the rare opportunities to see a national team match on this tiny island called Iceland. What do I get for my patience? Not much from either team.

So why write about this game when it is merely a blip on the international football scene (clearly overshadowed by Argentina’s, Portugal’s, etc. title hopes)? Well, because seeing how this year’s host country treats its crucial warm up matches is important. We all, irrespective of who we are rooting for, don’t want to see the host team get killed.If that were to happen, it would be a huge shame being the first WC tourney played on African soil.

SO, there are a few things I would like to say to Mr. Joel Santana – Brazillian born Coach of the South African squad – if there’s a chance he might be reading:

Why didn’t you take this game seriously?

I saw the line up and the only players worth noting from Confed’ Cup were Teko Modise and the speedy Gaxa. No Peinaar? No McCarthy (even despite his discipline problems)? You haven’t been playing any seriously competitive matches due to your auto-bid to WC 2010, while every other team have been fighting for a spot in WC 2010. I would’ve expected you and your players to take these games more seriously. 9 months isn’t really that long to get your team flowing, especially when there are very few international breaks. Given that, a good majority of the S. African squad, a.k.a. Bafana Bafana (Such an Awesome name!), plays domestically and should take such international matches to get accustomed to the different styles of play around Europe (of which, 1 or 2 might end up in their group).

Back to the game:

Iceland sported a fairly strong side (about as strong as they could get without the likes of Eidur Gudjonsen – out with a shoulder injury). Perhaps the 3k plus crowd reflected that most already knew Eidur wasn’t going to be there and didn’t bother showing – too bad I can’t read Icelandic.

The first half was slow, very slow. South Africa can’t really use the excuse of it being too cold; it was +7C, which shouldn’t be too much different from their matches in inland venues this summer (I mean our summer, their winter).

Only action worth mentioning in the first half was a dipping free kick by Veigar Pall Gunnarsson  (AS Nancy, France). The South African keep gave up a rebound, which Iceland was unable to put in.

The 2nd half, thankfully, was more exciting. Iceland came out quick; Gunnarsson, again, with a near-post header. A minute later, the 50th, Gunnarsson, facing goal with the ball at the top of the box and very little room, lets off a quick shot…a toe poke which had Josepths swatting flies. Goal! The Icelanders were stoked…including me. After that, Iceland seemed to maintain the majority of the possession. South Africa had few counter attacking opportunities down the right side with Gaxa providing less-than-average quality service. However, they were unable to find the net. The closest they came was in the 90th when Katlego Mphela skimmed the crossbar with a shot from 20 yards out.

Game Over. Iceland wins. Joel Santana can’t be too happy.

He, however, didn’t seem to get his boys into the game. The 5 subs he made didn’t show much besides the aforementioned shot. He just stood there in his puffy green and yellow jacket, with the same pose (feet together, arms behind his back). Over the last 2 months, it’s been 4 losses in the last 5 matches for Bafana Bafana; Surely Joel, you have a lot to do before June. Get on it!

To conclude: Props to Iceland. It’s not everyday that they get a win. Yea-yuh!

- Kenjo is a guest writer for Constantly Offside who will be providing us content whenever possible. A good friend of both Biggy and Chamo, Kenjo met the Constantly Offside crew through the Club team at Cal Poly. An incredible midfielder, Kenjo will be sorely missed as the Mustangs aim for a national title this year, as he has the unique experience of studying abroad in Iceland. Look for more of Kenjo's work in the coming months!