If the South African coaching staff had read the article “Time to tear down the wall” in our football strategy section they might have made it into the Confederations Cup final. Instead, the host nation was beaten by Brazil 1-0 today (June 25th) in the 87th minute on a long-range Daniel Alves free kick that beat keeper Itumeleng Khune after nicking the far post. Alves had come on just seven minutes earlier as a substitute for Andre Santos.

If there had been a defender at the post, at least South Africa would have had a chance of stopping the thunderous shot. In fact, the shot might have even hit him. Instead, South Africa will have to settle playing for third place in the tournament while it will be Brazil vs the USA in the final on June 27th. This was by far the best game the hosts played during the event and with a little better aim, or a touch of luck they could have won it or at least took it to extra time. They approached the game positively and had more chances to score than Brazil, but keeper Julio Cesar thwarted them on every occasion.

Again it showed that previous records and odds and winning streaks and whatever else you want to include, don’t matter at all once the game starts. If you’re a boxer and your opponent can punch like hell, you either have to smother him or keep him on the defensive so he can’t unload on you for 12 rounds. This is what South Africa realized and instead of inviting the Brazilians to attack them for 90 minutes and hope for a lucky punch, they took it to them whenever they could and came oh so close.

The South Africans weren’t afraid to shoot…from anywhere actually, and they hammered several long-distance shots that were saved by Cesar or just missed the post by inches. Brazil, of course, created quite a few chances of their own, but Khune handled everything they could throw at him. After the goal, South Africa had a hard time getting possession of the ball and that may have had a lot to do with a massive three-man substitution that was made in the 90th minute. The changes seemed to spoil the team’s rhythm and they never really regained the ball long enough for them to snatch an equalizer before the final whistle.

In fact, Brazil should have doubled the score in injury time though, as Fabiano was in all alone on Khune, but the keeper came out well to block the shot. As far as Brazil goes, they didn’t play badly, and could have had another goal or two as well, but it definitely won’t go down in the history books as one of their greatest performances. You could have seen the relief on manager Dunga’s face when Alves’ shot hit the back of the net.

The South Africans will be thinking about all of the glorious chances they missed and the saves that Cesar made, but they sure gave it their best for the 50,000 home fans and for the millions watching on TV around the world. It was a game well worth watching.

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