Franz Beckenbauer, the German soccer legend, is highly impressed with Bafana Bafana that he is convinced they will not be a laughing stock during the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals.

Franz Beckenbauer, the German soccer legend, is highly impressed with Bafana Bafana that he is convinced they will not be a laughing stock during the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals.

But his brotherly advice to Bafana Bafana is to get a deadly striker to partner Bernard Parker, whom coach Joel Santana has been using as a lone attacker. He said if South Africa can attend to challenges up front, they'll be "among the favourites in the 2010 World Cup".

At the same time, Beckenbauer is more than convinced that South Africa will put up a great show in 2010, adding that it will be the greatest tournament.

Popularly known as "Der Kaizer" (The emperor) in soccer circles, Beckenbauer was in South Africa as an ambassador of Adidas for the Confederations Cup.

"The South African organising committee has done an excellent job. The Confederations Cup has been a great show and well organised," said Beckenbauer.

"I have been following the Confederations Cup since it started, watching the games on television. It is good to see our friends in South Africa doing so well.

"I also saw the South African team against Brazil. They were excellent and unlucky to lose the game. The problem with South Africa is that the team does not have a great finisher. They had Brazil in trouble until the 88th minute when the free kick was awarded."