South Africa ambition grows after unbeaten run

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa is entering the World Cup confident of success with an unbeaten run stretching back to last October creating a winning mentality in the squad, goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs said on Monday. The recent run has seen the host side transformed from a team given little chance of making it past the first round. "When it was first announced we would be hosting the World Cup, the players wanted to compete. Now our confidence has grown and as we start to feel we are capable, our mindset has changed," explained Josephs at a news conference in Johannesburg on Monday. "Now we want to win, we want to get as far as we can go in this tournament," he said. South Africa, among the lowest ranked teams at the tournament, open the World Cup against Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Friday. South Africa's win over Denmark in Pretoria in their last warm-up match on Saturday stretched to 12 their number of unbeaten games. "We are more than ready. This World Cup is what we have dreamt of as players," Josephs added. (Reporting by Mark Gleeson, Editing by Nigel Hunt; To query or comment on this story email [email protected])