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South Africa coach Joel Santana is eyeing a huge upset against his compatriots Brazil in their Confederations Cup semi-final.

The Brazilian (pictured) was in a confident mood on the eve of the match at Ellis Park, handling questions as deftly as a seasoned politician.

After speaking eloquently about the honour of meeting Nelson Mandela earlier in the day, Santana assured Bafana Bafana fans that South Africa would turn out against the five-times world champions with one thing on their minds - attack.

"It's impossible to go out and defend for 90 minutes against Brazil," he stated.

"We're going to take the game to them. We might lose but we'd prefer to lose honestly playing attacking football.

"We learned a lot in the 2-0 defeat to Spain, now we are facing almighty powerful Brazil. We are going to try and at least match them as much as possible and to play football as beautiful as theirs.

"Not to be afraid is important, we want to produce a spectacle."

Striker Bernard Parker failed to complete the pre-match training session after picking up a minor knee problem and the forward who scored both goals in the 2-0 win over New Zealand is uncertain for the game.

He is due to undergo medical tests later on Wednesday and Thursday before a decision is taken on whether he will be fit enough to play.

Later Santana tackled the question of divided loyalties in leading South Africa out to play his native country managed by a man he used to coach.

"Note this, playing against Brazil is a professional occasion, South Africa have accepted me and given me an opportunity to coach the national team for the Confederations Cup and next year the World Cup," he continued.

"It's a historic moment facing Brazil, I know some of the Brazilian players personally but the important thing is we are going to do our best against one of the top teamms in the world.

"I thank South Africa with a lot of humility for giving me this chance," said the man who played against Pele in his career as a player.

Captain Aaron Mokoena said there was an air of excitement in the Bafana Bafana camp.

"We're expecting a very very tough game but for the players it's an exciting moment," the Portsmouth midfielder said.

"We've been waiting for this game for a long time."

Mokoena was part of the South Africa team that beat Brazil 3-0 at the Olympic Games in Sydney nine years ago and he revealed: "I spoke to the boys last night about the feeling of beating 'the giants'.

"For sure tomorrow is different, Brazil want this badly, but so do we."

AFP