Now that Spain has won the month-long global spectacle, South Africa deserves praise for putting on a first-rate World Cup.
Before the games began, many around the world — particularly in Europe — questioned whether the African nation could pull this off.
They doubted the stadiums, but the stadiums were beautiful. They questioned the transportation infrastructure, but it generally worked.
They wondered if crime would overshadow the games, but crime barely made a ripple. In fact, while South Africa had set up a separate judicial wing to handle crimes during the World Cup, the 1,600 employees had only about 200 cases.
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