After three rough days of traveling, walking, watching and cheering, as well as being reduced to a two-man team after Striker left us, Biggy and I went into relaxation mode. Day 11 started by sleeping in, till about noon, given the blatant lack of sleep we had accumulated recently. We had decided the night before that we would explore the little town of Fish Hoek that Fifa had so elegantly placed us in. Our hotel was conveniently placed about a block away from the beach, so we strolled towards it in search of some seaward views. Unfortunately, the weather decided this was not the day for sights and the entire coast line was fogged in.
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Nice field, best stadium, gorgeous.
WARNING: If you are in any way related to Biggy, Chamo, or Striker, you may not want to read this post, if you still insist on reading, try to skip the part JUST after the USA-Algeria game. Should you read it, know we are alive and well, in good spirits, and laughing about the situation now (kind of). That said, this post covers three intense days, in three different cities, where we witnessed three entirely different matches, therefore it will be a rather long read. We hope you enjoy (especially if you don’t have any emotional stake in our well being).
- Argentina - Despite a rather weak performance in the opening match against Nigeria, Argentina returned in leg 2 to dispose of South Korea with ease, and if Higuain continues to fire them in, there will be no stopping Maradona’s men… Unfortunately.
- Brazil - Almost shocked by North Korea, Brazil recovered to thump the Ivory Coast and looks like the Brazil of last summer…kinda. You can’t argue with results, but might not be as strong as advertised.
- Chile - Dirt nasty on offense, this Chile team is all out attack. It works. I don’t know what it is about South America, but this appears to be their world cup to do damage. Biggy thinks this is currently the most dangerous team in the tournament.
- Netherlands - Maybe sluggish in the group will make them dangerous in the knockouts? You can’t argue with two wins, but suggesting that the Dutch have been lucky isn’t a stretch by any means.
- Uruguay - The class of group A, everyone and their mother has underestimated this team. Except team CO who had them pegged to win the group. They are classy on the ball and tough as nails on defense.
- Portugal - Did breaking through the flood gates finally open the door to the Portugal team many of us thought we would see this summer? Or is this the overrated Portugal side that struggled to qualify? Only time will tell.
- Ghana - Getting it done in the group of death is no easy task, but Ghana has driver seated themselves going into their last group game. The question still stands if they can score off of anything but penalties.
- Mexico - Thumped South Africa pretty hard, but faces a rough game against Uruguay that could still prevent them from going through. Still, offensively they look legit.
- Paraguay - South America called, and it’s for the World Cup. Drawing with Italy and beating Slovakia makes them the class of the group and with a possible slip up game against New Zealand looming, they should still win the group.
- Germany - So good in game one, so absent in game two. Their match with Ghana is make or break, and the German team that shows up will determine if they stumble out after a promising start or go through with slightly less then flying colors.
- Serbia - After getting upset by Ghana, Serbia rebounded with a vital win against a very talented German squad. Still, defensive mistakes are dragging down the key candidate for many to be the surprising team of the tournament.
- Spain - A poor showing against Switzerland was amended with a clinical display against Honduras, they still have work to do, but with a potent strike force and more talent at midfield than any other team in the tournament, Spain looks to be in a fine position.
- Slovenia - The shocking leaders of group C, the small European nation played a stellar first half against the States, though were incredibly fortunate to escape with a point in the end, still, they are in prime position to advance.
- Switzerland - They shocked the European champions, and were a bit unfortunate in their second match against Chile to have a man sent off, but they not only almost drew the South Americans, they almost scored as well.
- Denmark - They got the win they needed against a good Cameroon squad, but their defense had huge holes and they will be without Kjaer for their final match against a Japanese squad that took the game to the Dutch.
- New Zealand - Did anyone expect the Kiwi’s to draw Italy? Probably not, but they did, and they did well. They have a staunch defense and good goalkeeper, tireless midfielders and surprisingly nimble strikers.
- USA - Win and you are in. We have heard this before for Team USA, who looks more and more clutch in big games. Can they do it again? Time will tell, but after a dominating second half where they were robbed of the full 3 by FIFA, team USA looks to have righted the ship. We hope.
- England - Did someone say win and you are in? England redefined lackluster against Algeria, but with so much attacking power and so much to play for against Slovenia, I wouldn’t bet against them. Or would I? I’m about to go to the casino so time will tell on that bet. I see them going through if Heskey finds a seat on the pine.
- South Korea - Bit surprising, but who doesn’t undervalue the Asian sides at the World Cup? Destroyed Greece, but dismantled by Argentina, today is the day.
- Japan - Surprisingly strong in attack, they were unlucky not to at least draw the Netherlands. Should be an entertaining game between Denmark and the Asian nation.
- Slovakia - Disappointing against New Zealand, and even more so against Paraguay, Hamsik has not lead his team on to the mediocre glory we may have predicted.
- Ivory Coast - They played well against Portugal, but got a bit unlucky from some suspect refereeing during the Brazil game. Still, the goals aren’t flying in as many predicted, despite their wealth of talent. Hopefully they can pull a big result to please their fans against North Korea.
- South Africa - Another team I didn’t want to put as low as they ended up, but Bafana Bafana have done their nation proud with their performances. While the Uruguay result was disappointing, their heart and passion against France was unrivaled as they almost produced the impossible.
- Greece - Already they have achieved more than their nation ever has in a World Cup, just by scoring a goal. However 2-0 defeats to both South Korea and Argentina see the Greeks crash out of the cup yet again.
- Italy - They aren’t even a shade of the team that won it all four long years ago. Their attack is weak, defense is sluggish, and now the best goalkeeper in the world is injured. They don’t deserve to advance, but still hold the possibility to with a result against a very talented Slovakia squad that has underperformed and wants to prove it belongs.
- Australia - They may have the best fans, but the Socceroos were manhandled by Germany, and some poor decision making from their top players has resulted in both Cahill and Kewell seeing red, and unable to play in a few of their group stage matches. They showed heart against Ghana, but is it enough? They need a result against Serbia now.
- Cameroon - First team to be officially eliminated, however a bit harshly. They outplayed the Danes throughout their match, but came up losers despite tearing apart the opposition defense. Their attack, lead by main man Eto’o, seemed potent, but couldn’t put the ball in the net and avoid elimination.
- Algeria - Seemingly more content to spoil the favorites party than actually advance themselves (given their celebrations after the drab England match) the Algerians have a talented side, but fail to show much promise in the attacking half. They control well, but progress to the box poorly, and now need to beat a spirited USA squad.
- Nigeria - Their best player all tournament has been their keeper, and even he made a slight mistake against Greece. The Super Eagles will unfortunately crash out today, and we will be present.
- Honduras - Honduras haven’t played poorly, rather they drew a group that is underrated in terms of its competition. Chile, Spain and Switzerland are all top sides, and have proven so given their current standings. I held the Hondurans as outside favorites to progress, but the competition was too tough, and they now hold little to no chance of advancing.
- France - They are awful, their coach is awful, the players have rifts between themselves, and they no longer seem to care. Bafana Bafana will beat them, just a matter of by how much?
- North Korea - They were incredible against Brazil, but Portugal showed the World what we all initially expected, that they would be overwhelmed by class talent, and the 7-0 drubbing proved it so. It is now a matter of how much the Elephants will put past them in two days time.
Table Mountain, before we conquered the beast
So I mentioned in my last post that our plan to climb Table Mountain had been foiled by some cloud cover, but after researching the weather the morning of our 6th day we found that we had prime mountain climbing conditions. We had earlier been informed that it took a good four hours to conquer, which we thought was rubbish, and turned out to be, though our cabbie (who we never really liked anyway) was convinced we were insane for wanting to walk up. There is a gondola/cable car that takes you to the top in only four minutes, but to counter the beer consumed thus far on the trip, we felt a good hike was in order.
Even in Africa we are thinking about our dads today. Much love.
Cape Town was very welcoming
Didn’t post last night due to my dismay after the England result, and I’ll preface this post by stating I will not be delving into the details of that game. That is mainly due to a lack of details to even mention, the game was awful, it was a terrible showing by the Three Lions, and just like every World Cup I have been alive for, they are failing to meet any expectations. That said, I managed to wiggle my way into the 8th row of the expensive seats right behind the bench for the second half (due to Striker’s CAT 1 ticket he bought, more on that later) which was a treat, in the sense that its as close as I’ll get to most of my heroes, probably ever. That, unfortunately, was the highlight of the match.
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It is a sight from all angles
Biggy reported on the Spain v Switzerland match that we attended yesterday, so I won’t go into reporting further about that wonderful match we were present at, thus I will consolidate days two and three into one wonderful post. The weather in Durban was gorgeous yesterday, so we spent most of our time down by the beach, walking between the fan zone and the casino that lead to the gateway to Moses Mabida Stadium. I have to say, the stadium they constructed in Durban is nothing short of spectacular, something that you must see if you ever go to South Africa.
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Yes, finally both here!
Well not really day one, Chamo was here a full day before Biggy got in, but used that day to catch up on sleep, accumulating 16 hours and waking up again at 6 AM this morning. Today was the first day that we both finally made it to Durban, South Africa, though it took Biggy some time to find our wonderful little hotel, since the cab driver had no idea where it was. Apparently, Durban decided to change a majority of its street names in the run up to the World Cup, leaving cabbies invariably flustered. Finally, after we both managed more than 32 hours of traveling the past few days, we were reunited at the Road Lodge in Durban.
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In hindsight, would have probably rather seen this lineup
Having had a good amount of time to reflect on the result from yesterday, and now that I still have at least 5 hours before I board my plane to Johannesburg (though this won’t be posted till I’m settled in Durban) I want to give my English reaction to the match. I will start by saying I believe it was a fair result given the course of the match, but it certainly shouldn’t have been…
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