South African soccer fan cheers on his team.
(Richie Duchon)

After a topsy-turvy round-robin and an historic upset in the semi-finals, the hype of the Confederations Cup has excited South Africans in Cape Town for the finals and the upcoming World Cup.

Whether it's South Africans rooting for their Bafana Bafana team in the run-up to the semi-finals or Americans across the globe still amazed that the United States beat the world's top-ranked Spain, the twist-and-turns of the Confederation Cup have caused a stir.

Some in Cape Town have already wagered their Confederations Cup final predictions.

"I think Brazil will win it. No doubt about it," said Liz Dullah, who will be watching the 2010 action in Cape Town.

And with their first Confederations Cup semi-final spot ever, Bafana Bafana fans have been thrilled.

A true Bafana Bafana fan, Siya Ralawe held out hope that his host team could have pulled off a victory against Brazil.

"We've seen Egypt beat Italy, so anything is possible," he said.

The surge of enthusiasm among South Africans and Captonians has been in large part because of the tournament, said former Bafana Bafana striker, George Dearnaley.

"The Confederations Cup definitely started the process," he said. "The tournament has been very successful and games have been played in very good spirit."

But Dearnaley, who expressed concern about the lack of support for Bafana prior to the Confederations Cup, said that wasn't always the case.

"Not enough people understand how big the World Cup is," he said. "And we are supposed to be a football-crazy country."

The excitement for the World Cup that should have been bursting at the seams in Cape Town just a few weeks ago was, at best, lukewarm.

In an article from the Cape Town Partnership's June edition of City Views, a national survey revealed that only 68 percent of Captonians believed the city of Cape Town will see benefits from the World Cup.

And FIFA president Sepp Blatter expressed concern in Cape Town newspapers about the empty seats at a soccer match between Spain and New Zealand at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg last Sunday.

According to Dearnaley, part of the delayed enthusiasm for Captonians was that the Confederations Cup was not in Cape Town, which made it harder for people to participate in.

"For a lot of Captonians watching it on TV you get a good sense of how things are progressing, but it's not the same as being in a host city, and being a part of the games," he said.

However, Dearnaley said the sold out stadium at the Brazil versus Italy game this past weekend and the continual twist-and-turns of the Confederations Cup caused an upswing in enthusiasm among South Africans and particularly Captonians.

"I think the tournament has been hugely successfully for the country," he said. "It's exactly what we needed."

And Dearnaley said he thinks another boost of excitement will come in December when with the World Cup qualifying teams will be matched up in Cape Town.

 "When things start arriving in Cape Town and as we get closer to the World Cup is when we'll see the people of Cape Town really get behind this thing," said Mr Dearnaley. "Come December 4, that is when the world comes to Cape Town. Then it'll really smack people in the head of how big it is," he chuckled.

For fans like Ralawe, who were already excited before the Confederations Cup, the soccer craze will only continue to score, "especially with all our vuvuzelas [with us]," he said.