Issued by: Office of the Presidency
8 June 2002
President Thabo Mbeki on Saturday congratulated Bafana Bafana on their first-ever win in the World Cup soccer finals.
This follows the South African win against Slovenia 1-0 at Daegu in South Korea.
In a statement, Mbeki paid tribute to captain Jomo Sono and his team saying: "To our magnificent 11 and those who gave such valuable support, South Africa says thank you.
"We shall all watch with absorbing interest the preparations for Wednesday's match in this remarkable world cliff-hanger. We also wish coach Jomo Sono and the rest of the team every success..."
South Africa now have four points behind Spain's six in Group B and need to win a point against Spain on Wednesday to be sure of securing a place in the last 16.