Down, out, but so proud

It is always easy to look back at these times and ask 'what if' ... and that is what I find myself doing now.

What if Katlego Mphela had buried that chance that struck the post late on against Mexico and Bafana had won their opener 2-1?

What if Aaron Mokoena had stepped up with the rest of his defence and not played Rafael Marques on-side for Mexico to equalise?

What if coach Carlos Alberto Parreira had been bolder in his selection for the first two games and dropped the ineffective, yet still mystifyingly popular, Teko Modise?

What if Mokoena had stood tall and allowed Diego Forlan's shot to hit him, rather than duck underneath it and allow it to deflect into the goal for Uruguay's opener?

What if the referee had not flashed that cheap red card and awarded that harsh penalty against Itumeleng Khune in the same game?

What if Bafana had pitched up to play against Uruguay at all?

What if Mphela had put his shot inside the post in the match when it was still 2-0, making it 3-0 and taking them to within a goal of qualifying for the second round?

But those are just 'what ifs'. What is done is done, and we now need to be proud of a side that claimed four points in a group that included three teams in the Top 20 of the FIFA World Rankings.

No other side has had to contend with that kind of quality in this World Cup.

The French may have been abysmal, the architects of their own downfall, but that is still a major scalp for South Africa and their only ever win against a major footballing nation.

Pride and honour restored ... but I still have that nagging feeling of 'what if'...

Images sourced from www.fifa.com