Individual flair of South Americans prospers in Africa

Basically, if the tournament was being staged in South America, there was little point looking beyond Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay. All three lifted the trophy twice on 'home' soil with Argentina and Brazil also reaching the 1930 and 1950 finals where they lost to the Uruguayans.

Likewise, when the World Cup came to Europe, it was the traditional powers of that particular continent who tended to prosper as the Latin Americans floundered.

Only Brazil in 1958, when the finals were staged in Sweden, triumphed away from 'home' to underline just how difficult players found adapting to the foreign conditions.

This status quo was, however, shattered when FIFA decided to look beyond the traditional host countries in 1994 and, in an attempt to help the game gain a foothold in largely previously unchartered territory, they took the World Cup to the United States.

Four years later, football's greatest extravaganza returned to Europe – France making home advantage pay this time – before Japan and South Korea were awarded the finals in 2002.

The upshot of moving away from the traditional areas has been the tournament becoming much more unpredictable, even if Brazil did triumph in both Los Angeles and Yokohoma.

South Africa being awarded the finals – and, in particular, the tournament taking place in winter for the first time since 1978 – brought even more intrigue with regards who could expect to do well this year. Would it be the South Americans or Europeans? Or would it be an African nation who prevailed?

Two weeks into the 2010 World Cup, the interim answer has to be South America with Uruguay and Mexico qualifying from Group A and Argentina emerging from Group B with a 100 per cent winning record. In Group G, Brazil have already qualified with a game to spare while Chile need just a point to top a group containing pre-tournament favourites, Spain. Paraguay complete the quintet to have reached the knockout stage.

In contrast, the African challenge largely failed to materialise with only Ghana having gone through, while the traditional powers of Europe are yet to show the consistency expected of world champions.

That is not to say that Spain, Germany, England or Holland can be written off just yet.

But there can be little doubt that in a tournament characterised by caution, the type of individual talent so often found in South American footballers has prospered.

Lionel Messi is one such player who was expected to sparkle and has done just that.

But the Argentinian has by no means been on his own with Chile's Alexis Sanchez and Luis Suarez of Uruguay both having an outstanding World Cup to date.

Where their European brethren have looked stale, the trio have brought excitement with their wide array of skills and ability to execute outrageous tricks at speed.

The respective coaches also deserve credit with Chile's Marcela Biesla and Javier Aguirre of Mexico being willing to experiment with formation in an attempt to unlock an obdurate opposition defence.

Even Diego Maradona, who through his antics in qualifying almost cost Argentina a place at the finals, appears right at home in the dugout.

So much so, in fact, that Argentina may just be the country who emerge triumphant from the first World Cup to be held on African soil.