Cape Town - Opposition leader Helen Zille on Friday wished Bafana Bafana well for their World Cup opener against Mexico and said South Africans of all races have united behind the host team.
"On behalf of the Democratic Alliance I would like to wish Bafana Bafana the very best of luck in their game against Mexico today, and over the next four weeks. And when I say four weeks, I am saying I think we have what it takes to go all the way," she wrote in her weekly newsletter.
"We are a nation driven by hope and optimism. We are on form and anyone who watched the Denmark game could discern a new found confidence in the players."
South Africa's show of national unity as the country hosts the world's biggest sporting event has proved the sceptics wrong, she added.
"What is equally important off the field is that all South Africans are uniting behind Bafana Bafana - something that would have been unthinkable to those who, like a British tabloid, predicted that a race war would erupt in South Africa, even warning readers of machete-wielding gangs roaming the streets!
"The show of unity we have witnessed in the build up to the World Cup is encouraging to all of us who believe that South Africa has the potential to become one nation, with one prosperous future."
"On behalf of the Democratic Alliance I would like to wish Bafana Bafana the very best of luck in their game against Mexico today, and over the next four weeks. And when I say four weeks, I am saying I think we have what it takes to go all the way," she wrote in her weekly newsletter.
"We are a nation driven by hope and optimism. We are on form and anyone who watched the Denmark game could discern a new found confidence in the players."
South Africa's show of national unity as the country hosts the world's biggest sporting event has proved the sceptics wrong, she added.
"What is equally important off the field is that all South Africans are uniting behind Bafana Bafana - something that would have been unthinkable to those who, like a British tabloid, predicted that a race war would erupt in South Africa, even warning readers of machete-wielding gangs roaming the streets!
"The show of unity we have witnessed in the build up to the World Cup is encouraging to all of us who believe that South Africa has the potential to become one nation, with one prosperous future."