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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Daniel Gallan

Golden goal: Siphiwe Tshabalala for South Africa v Mexico at the 2010 World Cup

South African players dance to celebrate the opening goal of the 2010 World Cup, scored by Siphiwe Tshabalala (second left) against Mexico in Johannesburg
Siphiwe Tshabalala (second left) gave the 2010 World Cup an instantly iconic opening goal. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Before Siphiwe Tshabalala’s rocket from his left foot, before Peter Drury’s iconic commentary, before the wall of noise from thousands of vuvuzelas and before Shakira’s Waka Waka, there was Philip.

From the moment Sepp Blatter pulled out an envelope with the words “South Africa” inside on 15 May 2004, cynics voiced their scepticism. The country was deemed too dangerous to host a World Cup finals tournament. There were concerns about public transport, about power outages and stadiums that weren’t up to scratch. Could South Africa really pull this off?

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