A simply beautiful morning in Rustenburg: safari sun, a cool winter
breeze and, of course, the unforgiving vuvuzela choruses blaring out
from every direction.
A member of the British press, who watched
England play a friendly in front of 12,00 fans last week, described
trying to work amid thousands of hooting vuvuzelas as: "a 90-minute
bees nest going off in your mind." I can't wait...
England and the US face-off later tonight in what looks like being a
critical Group C clash. Both sides' managers were in defiant mood after
training sessions last night. England's Capello called on his team to
reproduce its stunning qualification form, while Bob Bradley, the US
coach, said if the Americans can stop Wayne Rooney they will win the
game.
Carlos Bocanegra, the US team captain, provided a spot of comic relief
when he informed a packed press conference room about the team's
unexpected incident with an elephant.
"We were leaving our hotel to come here and there was a big elephant
just eating on the path outside our hotel, it was cool," said the
former Fulham defender. "We had to hold up and wait for 30 minutes."
If Johannesburg is the World Cup's urban heartbeat, then Rustenburg -
along with Nelspruit - will offer a window into rural African life
during the tournament. Elephants, nature, severely potholed roads and
all...
On another note, there are rumours that Barack Obama, the US President, will be at the match tonight.
Joe Biden, the Vice President is definitely attending, but 'Rusty' is
buzzing with rumours of Obama turning up. Word on the street is that
additional security is on stand-by to safeguard the arrival of Air
Force One and its prestigious passenger.
An Obama appearance would not only go down a storm in Africa, but also
be quite a caveat for the US World Cup bid [the Americans have bid for
both the 2018 and 2022 tournaments].
So David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, what are you up to tonight...?
Waka Waka.