Botswana v. South Africa

Shapa Zebra Shapaaaaa!!!! = Beat Zebras Beat ... which I guess means Score Zebras Score

Fortunate to have a stadium within a 10 minute walk from our dorms, all the US students and many of the Botswana students ponied up the 50 Pula (50 / 7 = $7.14) to watch Botswana and South Africa duke it out for qualifier points toward the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.  South Africa which hosted the 2010 World Cup is a strong opponent and is a tough rival to Botswana.  South Africa's team is called Bafana Bafana, a name that came from the team formed post-Apartheid which affectionately translates to: little boys, little boys [citation: Lebo].  Botswana are the Zebras, with uniforms that match the flag and the scene at the game: all black players dressed in blue and white with a clear blue sky. South Africa is a mix of white and black players.

Traditional dancers entertain before the game.

Botswana came out strong, working lots of quick passes and moved up and around the field quickly as the fan screamed for every successful pass and cross.  At 13 minutes, Botswana became silent as when Morgan Gould popped a header in past the Botswana keeper - who honestly had been sleeping since the starting whistle. 

This shot was saved by Botswana and was probably my best shot of the game. 

Despite an early disappointment, the Zebras kept pushing and tied up the game 1:1 in 38th minute when Ofentse Nato scored as South Africa tried to clear a rebounded shot.

Happy fans willingly posed for a photo after the game

The game ended up as a tie at 1:1 giving both Botswana and South Africa one qualifying point. "The result means that Group A is now led by the Central African Republic on three points, while South Africa have two and Botswana share bottom spot with Ethiopia on a single point." [1]

Proof that I was at the game

Reference:

[1] http://www.goal.com/en/match/77962/botswana-vs-south-africa/report