Home advantage did not necessarily prove to be a benefit to African teams during their opening matches at the first World Cup to be played on the continent.
The six sides mustered just one win between them, and players and coaches are split on whether the enthusiasm of expectant fans helps or simply heaps pressure upon their shoulders.
``I think the crowds can help the team,'' Ghana defender John Pantsil said. ``We need to just play normal football, be strong on the pitch and go for wins. But with the World Cup in Africa, there is pressure on all six teams that are there representing Africa.''
Ghana flourished in its opener, edging Serbia 1-0 despite the absence of star midfielder Michael Essien because of injury, and Ivory Coast had the best of a 0-0 draw with third-ranked Portugal.
Host South Africa, which was dismal at last year's Confederations Cup warmup event, performed encouragingly under returning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira to draw 1-1 with Mexico. But Cameroon, Algeria and Nigeria stumbled to 1-0 defeats.
Only Cameroon and Senegal, which is absent this time around, have represented Africa in the quarterfinals of a World Cup.
Hopes on the continent were raised as soon as South Africa was awarded the right to host the tournament that helpful conditions and a more familiar culture could assist one of this year's entrants to at least match that feat.
But the African players know that it's not as simple as that.
``Although it's South Africa, it's their winter,'' Nigeria midfielder Dickson Etuhu said. ``We don't think we have any advantages.''
Pantsil said his team's improvement lately is simply because of lessons learned from the experience of 2006, when, buoyed by fanatical support, players tried to impress too much and forgot their coach's instructions.
Four years ago, Ghana recovered from an opening loss to eventual winner Italy to progress from a tough group and set up a meeting with Brazil in the second round.
Confidence was high following victories over the Czech Republic and United States, and Ghana's fans thought the team had an opportunity to overcome a far from vintage Brazil side to match Cameroon's 1990 feat of reaching the World Cup quarterfinals.
But Ghana's vigorous attack left space for the five-time world champions to exploit and the Africans were sent home with a 3-0 defeat.
``Our problem against Brazil was overconfidence,'' Pantsil said. ``We wanted to do it so much and inexperience hurt the team. Now we have that experience because we have been there before. We are going to keep our heads, focus and we will have to make sure we do the right thing.
``Being overconfident sometimes can be dangerous. It makes it hard to concentrate and to keep the team shape and to do what the manager wants you to do.''
Ghana showed signs of having learned its lesson in its 1-0 opening win over Serbia, denying opponents space while not panicking when attacks failed to yield a goal until an 85th-minute penalty.
Ivory Coast also seemed to have learned the value of staying organized despite fanatical fans urging them to attack in waves.
Ivorian fans achieved the seemingly impossible by drowning out the local vuvuzelas in Port Elizabeth with their drums, and the team obeyed coach Sven-Goran Eriksson to defend in numbers and deny Portugal opportunities.
Ivory Coast hired the former England coach after slumping at this year's African Cup of Nations, and the Swede said his players definitely feel a responsibility to their fans.
``They feel the pressure because I don't think the fans in Ivory Coast were very happy after the African Cup,'' Eriksson said. ``They have many big players and the pressure is on them to win.''
Cameroon, though, struggled.
The first African side to make it to the World Cup quarterfinals, Cameroon lost 1-0 to Japan in Bloemfontein despite the presence of Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o in attack.
``We were too nervous in the first half. We lost many, many balls because we were nervous,'' Cameroon coach Paul Le Guen said. ``They were not playing to their best of their ability and we were not able to release our potential.''
Algeria too looked short of confidence and ideas in losing 1-0 to unheralded Slovenia, the smallest country at this World Cup.
Nigeria was never likely to overcome two-time champion Argentina in its opening Group B match, so the Super Eagles can look at a 1-0 loss without embarrassment. Matches against Greece and South Korea could still take it through to the next round for just the second time.
South Africa's Group A draw with Mexico felt a bit like a defeat after a late equalizer but its players see nothing but good times ahead, with home fans backing them noisily.
``I don't see us failing,'' midfielder Kagisho Dikgacoi said. ``A lot is expected from us. We are going to do our best and hopefully we're going to go to the next round, the quarterfinals and the semifinals.''
