Parreira off to a flyer

Parreira led his team to a 3-0 away win over Chad in their African Nations Cup qualifier in Ndjamena on Saturday to set South Africa on their way to qualifying for the 2008 finals in Ghana.

"It's both a feeling of relief and a feeling of satisfaction. I'm thrilled. It was important to win the first game. Now we have to keep this ball rolling," he said.

"This result was very, very important. We needed to get the three points to make sure we get closer to qualifying for the African Nations Cup finals.

"The conditions did not help us to play up to our standard. The heat was unbelievable. It was not fair to both sets of players and the surface did not help as well. But we did really well under the circumstances."

Goals from Surprise Moriri, Delron Buckley and Sibusiso Zuma ensured a winning debut for Parreira in heat of 42 degrees at kickoff.

South Africa now move to seven points in their qualifying group, with their two big group rivals Congo and Zambia playing against each other in Brazzaville on Sunday.

The appointment of the former Brazil coach has added to the growing sense of anticipation ahead of South Africa's hosting of the 2010 World Cup finals.

The 64-year-old Parreira, who won the World Cup with Brazil 13 years ago, has been charged with producing a side that will prove competitive at the 2010 event.

He has told South African officials the national team will have to play many more matches against higher quality and varied opposition in the coming months.

South Africa next take on Bolivia in a friendly in Johannesburg on Wednesday.