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Johannesburg – Dozens of fans donned their Bafana Bafana t-shirts and South African colours on Thursday despite the national team’s 3-0 loss to Uruguay the day before.

Goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune became only the second keeper in the history of the tournament to be sent off after he was red-carded in the 77th minute for bringing down Luis Suarez in the box.

"We still have a World Cup to pull off. We can still win in terms of hosting the tournament," said die-hard Bafana fan Julia Cuba.

"We still need to keep our heads held high."

Picking itself up

Prince Lethabathalo agreed, saying the host nation's performance was dismal, but South Africa was renowned for picking itself up in troubled times.

"Yes, its dampened spirits without a doubt, but we are capable of picking ourselves up. We've done it before, we can do it now."

A group of schoolchildren from the Vaal Rand were oblivious to the loss, as they stood in line to attend their first soccer match.

"I am so excited. I wrote poetry and performed so that we could win a competition to be here," said 14-year-old Vusisiwe Phati.

Other African teams

Kopano Sibanda, 13, said there were other African teams to support, but she would be backing Argentina in Thursday's match.

Government spokesman Themba Maseko said the success of the tournament rested on the ability of South Africans to remain hospitable.

"We are still in the initial stages of the tournament. And this is not the time to pull back, regardless of the disappointment we may feel... After all, this is still our World Cup. It is upon us to make it a success," he said in a statement.

The local organising committee urged South Africans to continue supporting the World Cup despite Bafana Bafana's 3-0 loss to Uruguay.

Nation in mourning

"As the organising committee we are saddened by the fact that the nation is in mourning, but we call on South Africans to remain good hosts as they have been for the past seven days," LOC spokesman Rich Mkhondo told a media briefing at Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.

Mkhondo urged South Africans to continue to support the "six pack", the six African countries who qualified to take part in the World Cup finals.

Supporters of Argentina and South Korea were arriving at Soccer City ahead of the clash between their national teams at 13:30. A sea of fans clad in Argentine colours blew their vuvuzelas, played drums and sang as they made their way into the stadium.

South Korean fans wore dragon face masks – with a group of them clad in red catsuits covering their bodies from head to toe.