South Africa's World Cup campaign got off to a tragic start when 13 people died in a stampede during their qualifier against Zimbabwe in Harare.
Rioting broke out in the National Sports stadium in the Zimbabwean capital
as Bafana Bafana were leading their neighbours 2-0 in a Group E match.
The game was abandoned with seven minutes left but Fifa ruled let the score stand, giving South Africa a perfect start to their World Cup campaign.
The South Africans never looked back and made sure of their place in Japan and Korea with a 1-1 draw in Burkina Faso in their penultimate fixture.
But Bafana Bafana will be the first to admit that they had the good fortune of being paired with mediocre opposition.
They then rubbed their hands with glee as they saw their biggest threat, Guinea, thrown out of the competition.
Guinea were expelled in March after defying FIFA on the firing of their football federation and the imposition of another administration by the government.