The game we attended in Port Elizabeth was Uruguay vs. South Korea. We were not particularly optimistic before the game that this would be a good match up but the game in fact was a great one. Uruguay has a great attacking tandem in Forlan and Suarez. After their early goal, the Korean attacked ferociously and were unlucky not to score more goals.
We were very surprised to see that the stadium was only about 80% full. We spoke to some locals and they said that it was almost impossible for them to get tickets to the games in Port Elizabeth. Nearly all the hospitality suites and VIP lounges were empty. I would estimate that there were about 5000 South Koreans at the game and perhaps 4000 Uruguayans. The South Koreans all wore red and draped the biggest flag I have ever seen during their national anthem. The atmosphere during the game was fairly good especially since it was such an exciting game.
We then watched the USA Ghana game on tv at a cafe at the Boardwalk in Port Elizabeth. The result was disappointing for the US since they played well and were organized as a team. They lost their concentration twice that lead to the Ghanaian goals. All the locals here supported Ghana so I think Ghana definitely had a home field advantage. Afterwards, the media was salivating over the Ghana team and they are now the great African hope (being the only African team to advance). Ghana´s success is no coincidence since they have had tremendous success recently in youth tournaments. So their success now is a result of an impressive soccer development program. The papers here are also pointing out that Ghana was the first African nation to acheive independence so perhaps it is fitting that it takes the lead soccer wise as well.
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