South Africa

South Africa may have just gone down to defeat against Brazil, but the performance shows real progress. Since the 2002 World Cup, South Africa have gone steadily backwards. They failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup and have not gone far in any of the African Nations Cup. Again, in the qualifying tournament for the African Nations Cup they had a miserable campaign. However, in the Confederations Cup South Africa have shown that they are on a team on the rise. They got to the semifinals and put up a credible performance against Spain along the way. Today, they were desperately unlucky against Brazil as they were beaten on an 88th minute goal. Matthew Booth and Bernard Parker have played incredibly well in the tournament and will be names to remember in a year. South African fans can take pride in this performance and do not have to fear being embarrassed in 2010.