Andrew McNair's World Cup Diary - Scotland in South Africa

Saturday, 19 June 2010 11:10

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Our man in South Africa continues his journey at the greatest show on earth.

By Andrew McNair

It has been a few days since I last posted, exactly the same amount of days Robert Green has had to think about his clanger versus the USA.

People were poking fun almost immediately but I heard the most shocking of the lot today, as with all these Robert Green jokes going around, some are getting slightly out of hand and even crossing the line.

But as fans in Scotland and indeed across the world, finally stop laughing, they will discover a World Cup kicking up a gear with the goals starting to flow and the dodgy refereeing moving to an all time high.

With ten goals in the last three games just about matching the total from the entire first round, I’m looking forward to reading all the articles praising the upturn in fortunes and not just beating on the African tournament.

I’m honest enough to admit the tournament had been nothing special (apart maybe from a silky German side) up until yesterday but things really have kicked up a gear.

Spain’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of the well drilled Swiss shocked the world and was followed up by a heartbreaking night for the hosts.

A deflection and a penalty, which should never have been (Suarez was offside) and even if the officials missed that it was never a red card as the Uruguayan striker had clearly lost control of the ball and therefore was not in a goal scoring position.

As for Suarez, he makes Cristiano Ronaldo look like a model professional. I have never seen a more embarrassing performance of falling over on demand by a grown man. Yet later on the Ajax forward shoulder barged the clearly well built Bafana centre back Khumalo off the ball. Oh the Irony.

I watched the match in Captains Bar a very metropolitan environment with plenty of dancing and singing as well as the tell tale noise of the vuvuzela. It was a terrific atmosphere and it was great to see the partying and dancing continue after the game despite the heart-breaking defeat.

Today, Maradona’s Argentina announced their bid for World Cup glory with a convincing win over what I can confidently state is a very good South Korea side.

It was the highest scoring fixture of the tournament so far and one which clearly demonstrated the well known attacking merits of the South American team.
Have they the defence to go far in this tournament? We shall see.

Tomorrow, the exciting looking Germans are in town and I have one of the hottest tickets in town.

They face the tricky Serbian side who have proved in the past a match for any European team and I’m hoping for a classic crunch.

Not the 0-0 snore fest I was subjected to a few days ago when Portugal and a jaded Ronaldo took on Ivory Coast originally minus Didier Drogba.

There was some excitement though as myself and Callum (my Scottish wingman) were repeatedly stopped and asked for photos in our Scottish regalia. We even met a man who drives through my own small town every day on his way to work. What are the chances?

We didn’t even qualify!

I hope for more of the same in less than 24 hours. Mind you whatever happens, a few beers will be drunk, new friends will be made I’m sure I’ll have the time of my life.

Andrew McNair has written for broadcasting giants Setanta and Fox Sports as well as Scottish newspapers the Evening Times and Sunday Herald. If you have any questions about the 2010 World Cup or this blog you can contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . If you enjoy his work you can join his group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=35412076250. He will writing on an almost daily basis for the duration of the 2010 World Cup from South Africa. Previous editions of the blog can be found on this website.