Hosts not scared of Spain and not worried about record (Feature)

By Peter Auf der Heyde Jun 18, 2009, 8:56 GMT

Rustenburg, South Africa - After outplaying New Zealand in their Confederations Cup game in Rustenburg on Wednesday night, South Africa are confident ahead of their final group match against Spain in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The 2-0 victory against the All Whites takes Bafana Bafana to four points in Group A, two behind the already qualified European champions, while Iraq, who face New Zealand in their last game are on one point.

A draw or victory would guarantee South Africa a place in the semi-finals, while a defeat would mean their continued participation depends on the score of the match between Iraq and New Zealand.

Earlier on Wednesday the Spaniards equalled the record of 14 consecutive victories by beating Iraq 1-0 in Bloemfontein and a win against South Africa would ensure they hold the record themselves.

The are also unbeaten in 34 games and just two matches shy of breaking Brazil's record of 35 games without defeat.

South African coach Joel Santana said he is not too concerned about the record. 'Congratulations on their record,' he said after his side had beaten New Zealand.

'But I am not worried about their record. They have a group of experienced players and we have to respect them.

'But we have to play our own game. We have good players and the match between Spain and South Africa will be a great game.'

He once again praised his players for the way in which they had dominated throughout the game against New Zealand. 'It is difficult to play well and beautiful in a competition like the COnfederations Cup, but we managed that against New Zealand.'

Midfielder Macbeth Sibaya, who played his 50th game for Bafana Bafana against New Zealand, said he did not think that the fact that Spain had already qualified for the semi-finals and are likely to rest several key players an advantage.

'I think they are the favourites and even if they have already qualified they will be dangerous. Playing a B side is even more difficult because it is players who do not play regularly and want to shine and show up their skill and make it to the first eleven,' he said.

Captain Aaron Mokoena said that his side will go into a game against Spain full of confidence after outplaying New Zealand. 'We did well in our last game. I think we do not need to be scared of Spain.

'We have to believe that Iraq can beat New Zealand and that means we have to get a result against Spain. We will go into the match wanting to win.

'It is going to be a difficult game, but we are confident. We are expecting Spain to come out and give us a tough time. Those are the games that will test our form.

'We can still make the semi-finals because we play as a team. We are quite confident.'

He said that he was looking forward to taking on the likes of David Villa and Fernando Torres.

The defender, who has just moved from English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers to Portsmouth, said that he has already played against Liverpool's Torres.

'That time Liverpool won, but I hope that it will be a different outcome this time around,' he said.