The Boys go out in a blaze of glory (Feature)

By Clare Byrne Jun 22, 2010, 19:45 GMT

Johannesburg/Cape Town - For a tantalising first half it seemed that a miracle was in the offing.

Hope was reborn in South Africa Tuesday evening as the World Cup hosts took the fight to France, putting two goals past the 2006 finalists before crashing out of the tournament for want of another two.

South Africans rallied one last time in support of the team, marching on Bloemfontein's Free State stadium and fan parks across the country in their tens of thousands for the final battle against the French.

Nothing less than the pride of a nation was up for grabs in the game.

The hosts had been dented by a 3-0 drubbing by Uruguay last week, which left their World Cup ambitions hanging by a thread.

France's pride had taken an even greater battering, after star striker Nicolas Anelka was sent packing for a foul-mouthed tirade against coach Raymond Domenech sparking a one-day mutiny by his team- mates that saw them derided as 'scum' and worse at home.

In the end, it was South Africa's dignity that was restored - despite becoming the first World Cup host country to be knocked out in the first round.

'It's a win, it's a win. That's the most important thing,' a man shouted in a fan park in Johannesburg's Sandton district as the final whistle blew.

'We tried, we tried. I'm happy we won. The pride is good because France is a good side,' said Virgil Louis Bon Ami, a South African of French descent, who wore a jester's hat in the rainbow colours of the South African flag to watch the team's last hoorah with 4,000 others in Sandton.

When Bongani Khumalo headed home a corner-kick in the 20th minute the crowd jumped to its feet from the grass and erupted in a cacophony of ecstatic vuvuzela-blowing - a performance repeated again when Katlego Mphela made it 2-0 in the 37th.

Going two down in the first half was too much for a rare France supporter. The man, who wore a blue French jersey, picked up his bag and forged through the crowd towards the car park, refusing to answer questions.

As he left, a local supporter taunted him with a toot of her vuvuzela.

But the mood of triumph quickly evaporated across the country as French substitute Florent Malouda tapped home with 20 minutes left.

'Like a knife in the heart, we've been wounded by the French,' the commentator on the state SABC broadcaster declared as silence descended on Free State stadium, fan parks and homes countrywide.

'Ah, they'll come back,' Arthur Mciweni, a skinny boy of 15, said in Sandton.

But they didn't and he and his two friends slipped away five minutes later when it became clear South Africa's World Cup hopes were done for.

Yet, as the crowd melted away into the night, the mood was one of satisfaction.

The war hadn't been won but a famous battle had.

'We're disappointed, but happy we played so well,' said Tracy Vogel who was among a crowd of around 25,000 in Cape Town fan fest.

'I'm proud of the nation,' she said, managing a smile.

'Bafana Bafana are out of the World Cup but they won the hearts and minds of all South Africans and the whole world tonight,' Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the World Cup local organizing committee said in a statement.

'This is still South Africa's World Cup. We are not going home, the World Cup is happening in our home,' he added.

President Jacob Zuma, who watched the game in Bloemfontein, also reminded the country of the real prize.

'We won a big game against France today but the real winner was our country. South Africa is the bigger winner by hosting the World Cup,' Zuma said.