Nelspruit - Bafana Bafana equalled their biggest margin of victory ever when they thumped Thailand 4-nil in a World Cup warm-up match at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit on Sunday.
It was a dominating victory for South Africa over a team ranked only 15 places below them, reports SouthAfrica.info.
Carlos Alberto Parreira said the matches in the lead-up to the World Cup are primarily, for him, about the performance, with the result of secondary importance. Nonetheless, he declared himself satisfied with both aspects on Sunday, adding that Bafana could have scored even more goals.
Thailand's coach, former England captain Bryan Robson, bemoaned the failure of some clubs to release players for the friendly fixture, but nonetheless congratulated South Africa on a good performance.
At the post-match press conference, Parreira said there was a lot to be happy about in Bafana's performance and the big win. He said: "Results build confidence and as for the performance, the players look more comfortable on the ball.
"We still need more penetration, but I feel it is coming."
Looking ahead, Parreira added: "We now have stronger opponents coming and they will give us a more physical challenge. We are in the final build-up phase, but this is a good start."
In the lead-up to the World Cup, Bafana face Bulgaria, ranked 39th by FIFA, 34th-ranked Colombia, and 35th-ranked Denmark.
A noisy enthusiastic crowd packed the Mbombela Stadium for Sunday's match and they were rewarded with an entertaining performance from Bafana Bafana. The players looked comfortable on the ball, the passing was crisp, and, most importantly, there was some assured finishing.
Based on Sunday's showing, Bafana Bafana's training camps have certainly produced improvements in the national team's play.
Regular captain Aaron Mokoena was absent on duty with Portsmouth in the FA Cup final, but captain on the day Teko Modise did a great job in his absence and excelled in the midfield.
Siphiwe Tshabalala was superb on the left, while striker Katlego Mphela found his scoring boots again. Yet it was the overall team cohesion that was most impressive.
Bafana started with confidence and held onto possession with composed passing. After 22 minutes, their dominance was rewarded when Tshabalala struck with a sweetly taken free kick.
From near the middle of the field, he curled the ball through the wall and into the bottom corner of the net on goalkeeper Kawin Thamasatchanan's near post.
It took only another seven minutes for Bafana to double their lead and Tshabalala was involved once more, this time as the provider.
He delivered a corner to the far post where the Thais were caught short of defenders and Mphela was on hand to bundle the ball over the line.
Replays suggested that the striker may have used a hand, but the goal stood.
Only four minutes later, Mphela scored his second and this time around there were no questions about the legitimacy of the goal.
Modise sent through a beautifully weighted through ball on the right for Mphela to run onto. He picked it up with the defenders behind him and struggling to recover, but it was too late. Mphela finished well and South Africa had scored three times within the space of 10 minutes.
After the break Thailand showed more resilience, but South Africa remained in charge.
The visitors forced a free kick on their left in the 67th minute and Itumeleng Khune was forced into a good save by Datsahorn Thornrlao, but it was the only save he was required to make into the entire contest.
Substitute Siyabonga Nomvete found the back of the net for South Africa in the 80th minute after an excellent build-up, but was incorrectly flagged offsides by a lineman.
It was left to Bernard Parker to deliver the coup de grace and Modise, once again, laid it on.
After robbing the Thais of possession in midfield, he split open the defence with a superlative pass at full stretch, played with the outside of his right boot.
Parker ran onto it and then beat Thailand's substitute 'keeper Sinthaweechi Kaithairattanakol to his right, placing the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
It brought the curtain down on a complete display by Bafana Bafana but, as coach Parreira warned afterwards, the challenges heading into the World Cup are going to become much tougher.
