At the end of their encounter with France, Carlos Parreira turned to a camera and tearfully said, I feel at home here, these boys have been unbelievable. I will always remember this country. This moment will always stay in my mind; it summed up the whole spirit of South Africaperfectly. Whilst South Africa didntqualify, their campaign has been a memorable one from entertainment, to despair, and back again.Never before had there been such a pre-tournament anticipation; once a dream, an African nation hosting a World Cup was now a reality. The party fever Andrew Thomas Jersey was in full swing, even in the many friendlies that South Africa came through unscathed. The Bafana Bafanas preparation was ideal, including morale-boosting victories over Denmark andColombia.Carlos Parreira faced a huge task in trying to guide South Africa through the group stageBut nothing had prepared them for the attacking onslaught that they had to face in theopener with Mexico, a team renowned for attacking flair and prowe s. Mexico had been proven as a solid side in their warm-up encounter with Italy, and included Carlos Vela and Giovani Dos Santos in their squad.Within five minutes, it was evident as to why South Africa wereunderdogs.Khunes fumble drew a fantastic block fromMokoena, whilstFranco wastefully headed over three times. South Africa rarely threatened until the world took notice of one man: Siphiwe Tshabalala. The KaiserChiefs winger ran on to a delightful ball, before drilling home superbly. Cue a typical Africancelebration South Africa were enjoying themselves.Tshabalala scored a contender for goal of the tournamentPure excitement turned to despair with just twelve minutes lefthowever when Rafael Marquez scrambled home from six yards, silencing the controversial vuvuzelas. Katlego Blake Martinez Jersey Mphela hit the postlate on,but South Africa settled for a point.Next up for the hosts were Uruguay, a team with a supposedly-tense training camp. Many saw this as South Africas chance for avictory, but how wrong were the pundits?! Diego Forlan capped an impre sive performance with twogoals, the first being a deflected 30-yarder that finally showcased the benefits of the much-disputed Jabulani ball. The second came from the penalty spot after Khune brought down every-mans-villain Luis Suarez thus resulting in the keepers dismi sal.Forlan celebrates his penalty that condemned South Africa to their only defeatNeverthele s, South Africa battled hard. Cult-hero Tshabalala narrowly mi sed with two efforts, beforeGaxa headed wide. The hosts resistance was finally overcome in stoppage time, as Suarezs exquisite cro s was headed home byPerreira leading to a silent exodus Mark Bavaro Jersey from the stands.Mexico added to South Africas woes by defeating France 2-0, meaning that the hosts would have to hammerFrance whilst hoping there was a winner in the all South-American clash. The Bafana Bafanas chances were given aboost by the ma s-covered French in-fighting, with a hugesquad divide.This in-fighting was fully demonstrated in the first half as South Africa ran riot against the supposedly-superior French side. Bongani Khumalo headed home from a poorly-defended corner, Gourcuff was dismi sed forelbowing, before Mphela grabbed a well-deserved second.Suarez simultaneously put Uruguay ahead, as hope began to increase.Mphela saw twoefforts tipped wide byLloris, before his screamer clipped thepost. And then, totally against the run of play, France scored. Ribery ran on to a through ball before slotting a pa s toMalouda, who tapped into an empty net. Campaign over, but South Africa had firmly put themselves on the footballing Azeez Ojulari Jersey map.Maloudas goal effectively ended the hosts hopesSome media pundits had debated continuously over Parreiras selections for their games, buthis decisions were spot on. Moeneeb Josephs performed fantasticallywhen covering for Khune, and their backline were defensively sound bar a madhalf against Uruguay. Mphela and Tshabalala were excellent attacking choices, although his midfield selections were disputable.Pienaar and Modise never lived up to their expectations and should have been replaced midway through the Uruguay game, a decision which proved costly.Moeneeb Josephs performed admirably when replacing the suspended KhuneUltimately, South Africas campaign was succe sful, despite their failure to qualify. They showed pa sion and spirit, something unseen from many of the participating nations. Parreira told BBC Sport, We cant see this as a failure. We never talked about progre sing, everyone knew it was one of the toughest groups in the World Cup.We Xavier McKinney Jersey just mi sed out on goal difference and if we had a littleluck it could have been different.Moment of South Africas campaign: It has to be that goal. No opening World Cup goal will ever come close to challenging Tshabalalas strike, especially the elation it brought to the fans faces.Oddest occurrence:Domenechs refusal to shake Parreiras hand. When youre in a hole, stop digging Raymond.Best opponent faced: Diego Forlan. Thelong-haired striker was unplayable against the hosts, firing two brilliant goals.Most pleasing TV moment: The sheer elation and tears coming from fans after their victory over France. Football isnt just about 100,000-a-week ponces, you know?So there you have it. South Africas tournament perhaps the most entertaining so far.