Although South Africa fell to the Netherlands, 2-0, in the round of 16, a belief in a grander future took hold for the upstarts during this World Cup.
They have gained their first visit to the knockout stage in only their second World Cup. They have gained hope and curiosity about the journey ahead. They have gained that thing often hard to come by in this world: confidence. And through their four matches — a 2-1 loss to mighty Sweden after leading, a 2-2 draw with Argentina that made them mad, a dramatic 3-2 win over Italy and the Netherlands match — they have gained one doozy of a life experience.
They took the pitch against a giant before a sold out 40,233 who tilted toward the underdogs even when they lacked the nationality. They had the smaller chunk of possession all told but the larger share of woolly chances. They played as a program that struggled to three losses in France 2019, against a program that finished runner-up to the United States.
That pretty much ensured a flight home, yet a flight rich with audacious thoughts for a country still without a professional league.“We came to fight,” the 37-year-old defender Noko Matlou said. “We came to play our football, and we came to show our culture, how we play, and I think we did that.” “In this World Cup, there is no small team,” Matlou said, looking also toward fellow strivers Jamaica and Morocco. “. . . There is no small team anymore.”
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