South America crushing it at the 2010 World Cup

Chile's 1-0 victory over the Swiss today marked the 10th time a South American team has taken the field at the 2010 World Cup and the 10th time a South American team hasn't lost.

The CONMEBOL region is 8-0-2 now that we're nearly two-thirds of the way through the group stage. Brazil, Argentina and Chile lead their groups at 2-0 while the 'Guays -- Paraguay and Uruguay -- are 1-0-1 and in great position to advance. It's truly a stellar showing for the continent that will host the 2014 World Cup (Brazil).

The South Americans have outscored their opponents, 18-4. Uruguay and Chile haven't surrendered a goal.

The 2006 tournament featured four CONMEBOL teams (Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay) that went a combined 8-3-1 in the group stage. Everyone but Paraguay advanced to the knockout rounds, where Ecuador lost in the Round of 16 and Brazil and Argentina exited in the quarterfinals.

On the flip side, Africa has disappointed its fans while hosting the World Cup on its home continent. Compared to the 26 points the five South American teams have collected, the six African teams only have seven points combined. Ghana has most of them, with four.