All five South American representatives in the 2010 World Cup – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay – survived Group play and made it through to the second round. Add to that the two North and Central American teams—Mexico and the USA—and it’s been a very successful tournament thus far for the Americas. My money is still on either Brazil or Argentina to win the whole thing.

As for Africa—on the field, at least, this is not our World Cup thus far. Nigeria did not seem to want to win and made elementary mistakes. South Africa failed to put Mexico away and then got found out against Uruguay. Côte d’Ivoire was unlucky—they had to overcome a nine-goal difference to overtake Portugal, something that was effectively North Korea’s doing. As for Cameroon, the less said the better. I was at the Algeria game against England: in that game, after a sloppy start, they played well short of scoring, so the game ended in a goalless draw. They did the same thing against the USA.

That leaves Ghana as the hope of Africa.

One thing I noticed while in South Africa last week—apart from the fickleness of South African fans—was the relatively cold reception for African teams.

I can only really speak for Cape Town, where I traveled to see some first-round matches—I ended up scoring tickets to three. But local fans seemed more inclined to support the “traditional powerhouse” teams (i.e., European sides, as well as Argentina and Brazil) first. It may simply be realism (after all, I ultimately favor Brazil and Argentina myself), or a function of television—the English Premier League and UEFA Champions League dominate football broadcasts on local TV—or a reflection of how poor the local professional leagues on the continent are marketed or the subpar fan experiences at stadiums. Those explanations all make sense.

But I think there’s another layer. It’s well known that South Africans display high levels of xenophobia toward other Africans. In fact, there are already rumors circulating again about renewed attacks against African migrants once the World Cup is over.

There’s also a broader discomfort with continental identity. I lost count of the looks I got for wearing a Ghana or Cameroon beanie or jacket in a mall, or the negative looks I got for my Algeria scarf during the game against England as other locals, particularly black (including coloured) South Africans always had team gear from European tournament ready to wear.