Celebrating Defeat, Drowning Out Vuvuzelas, Other World Cup Stories

25 June 2010

A combination of pictures shows supporters from various countries playing vuvuzela horns during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

The football World Cup is entering its second round in South Africa and fans are gearing up for another two weeks of world-class football. The tournament, like any major event, has produced its share of stories.

Ghanaian football fans were a gloomy lot Wednesday night as their national team fell to Germany, 1-0, after a tense, tightly fought match.

But the mood a few minutes later turned to one of jubilation after news spread that Ghana had qualified for the second round because Australia had won the other Group D game against Serbia, 1-0.

The Ghanaians celebrated their defeat late into the night.

The change in mood was reversed for Slovenia, the smallest country in the Cup with only two million people.

Slovenia was at the top of Group C. But the plucky team fell to third place and an early flight home after the United States scored the winning goal against Algeria during injury time and Slovenia lost to England 1-0.

On the streets of Johannesburg football paraphernalia vendors were in mourning, not just because South Africa failed to qualify for the second round of the World Cup. Most South Africans were proud of their team's 2-1 win over France.