South African fans took to the streets this Thursday sounding their vuvuzelas to celebrate Bafana Bafana’s first qualification for the knockout stages of a World Cup.
For the first time in a World Cup since hosting the tournament in 2010, the South African team surprised South Korea with a 1-0 score on Wednesday (24), thus guaranteeing their place in the round of 32, something that seemed unlikely after the 2-0 defeat in their first group stage game against the co-hosts, Mexico.
As the match ended around 5am in South Africa, dozens of people took to the streets — many in pajamas — to sing, dance and make long plastic vuvuzelas sound.
“We are proud to be South Africans and this is our World Cup. We started it and we will finish it,” said a fan in the Soweto region of Johannesburg in a video posted online by national broadcaster SABC.
“We love and support Bafana Bafana,” said another fan, who wore a scarf with the colors of the South African flag around his neck as crowds celebrated in the street behind him.
Other social media posts showed women dancing on a Soweto street as people sang “Shosholoza,” a Zulu chant meaning “move on” that South Africans often sing at sporting events.
President Cyril Ramaphosa praised the team’s “inspired team performance” in a social media post.
