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• carlos alberto parreira

• aaron mokoena

• mexico

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Johannesburg – Bafana Bafana are ready to roll back the years to 1996 when they last tasted glory as they play the most important match in their 18-year history on Friday.

Gallery: SA fans show their support for Bafana

The team will be hoping Madiba Magic will shine on them in their opening World Cup Group A showdown against Mexico at Soccer City which kicks off at 16:00.

A record 94 700 sell-out crowd will watch history being made in the first ever World Cup match played on South African soil.

Captain Aaron Mokoena said the 1-0 win over Denmark at the Super Stadium in Pretoria last weekend was key for them.

"That win has given us extra confidence. We beat one of the best teams in the world who are also playing in the World Cup. That was a massive boost to the players."

Former president Nelson Mandela met the players this week for a motivational "chat".

Bafana, ranked 83rd in the world, need that Madiba touch against the 17th ranked Mexican side.

1995 Rugby World Cup

Madiba supported the Rugby Springboks to glory in the 1995 World Cup final at Ellis Park and a year later was at the old Soccer City to celebrate Bafana winning the African Nations Cup.

Madiba, if he is able to attend, will be guest of honour at the new multi-billion rand world class Soccer City.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said the reason the world soccer controlling body awarded the hosting of the world's greatest sporting event to South Africa was in honour and respect of what Madiba had achieved in uniting South Africans when he became president of the new South Africa in 1994.

The local team experienced the euphoria of public support this week and would be hoping the Central Americans would be buried under an avalanche of some 90 000 vuvuzelas.

An estimated 150 000 fans turned out in Sandton on Wednesday to show their support for Bafana. The team, playing better than ever, was unrecognisable from the team Brazilian head coach Carlos Alberto Parreira inherited last November.

At that time Bafana was down and out after a 17-month spell under fellow Brazilian coach Joel Santana.

The SA Football Association axed Santana and brought back the highly experienced Parreira, who won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994.

Parreira had given back Bafana their self-belief and was confident that Bafana would navigate through a tough group, which included two former world champions in Uruguay and France, to reach the second round.

Make the country proud

Said Parreira: "When I took over Bafana last November the people told me to make the country proud. We have worked incredibly hard in the past five months and now we are ready to make the country proud."

Win or lose Bafana have earned the respect of the nation by going into the clash against Mexico with a 12-match unbeaten record.

The teams had met three times with Mexico winning twice while a third string Bafana caused an upset in 2005 in the Gold Cup played in the United States, winning 2-1.

Soccer City was in Parreira's words "one of the most intimidating stadiums I have ever been in" and the atmosphere with 90 000 vuvuzelas blown by fanatical Bafana supporters would make most teams weak at the knees. But Mexico were used to volatile and huge crowds and were not easily intimidated.

Bafana would strive for an early goal to fire up the already partisan crowd and deliver a psychological killer blow to the Central Americans.

Mokoena and his defenders would have to neutralise a strike force that could include new Manchester United star Javier Hernandez, Guillermo Franco and the Arsenal ace Carlos Vela.

In midfield expect Bafana star Steven Pienaar to show why he is regarded as one of the best players in the world against Giovanni dos Santos. Pienaar would be backed by Siphiwe Tshabalala and the rejuvenated Teko Modise who would be loading ammunition for striker Katlego Mphela.