CARLOS Alberto Parreira refused to get carried away over Bafana Bafana's resounding 4-0 victory against Thailand at Mbombela Stadium and instead admitted that the World Cup will pose a serious challenge for him and his players.

CARLOS Alberto Parreira refused to get carried away over Bafana Bafana's resounding 4-0 victory against Thailand at Mbombela Stadium and instead admitted that the World Cup will pose a serious challenge for him and his players.

While Bafana were convincing and displayed authority against a Thailand side lacking its top players, Parreira said the World Cup will prove just how far Bafana have come.

He also said being underdogs at the World Cup could work in Bafana's favour.

But the Brazilian mentor expressed delight at his squad's performance against Thailand.

"We had to look for two things in this game: performance and results," he said.

"It was a much improved performance and results are always important as they build confidence."

But for Bafana to do well in the World Cup, Parreira said, the team must face stronger opponents.

Katlego "Killer" Mphela, who was voted man of the match on Saturday, said his two goals against Thailand were what he needed to rediscover his goalscoring touch.

"I think I did well despite not scoring for a long time. I should have scored more goals but it wasn't to be," Mphela said.

Thailand coach Bryan Robson said: "South Africa played good football. We had a 30-hour flight and had only one day to prepare. I wanted to bring four of our strikers, but their clubs didn't release them. The atmosphere was good and with that support, I'm sure South Africa will do well in the World Cup. Coaches playing against SA will find it very difficult to communicate with the players (because of the noise from the vuvuzelas)."

But Parreira said he wanted them "louder and louder".