It was a convincing display by Bafana, the first in many years against a credible opposition. Excitement however got the better of some commentators, with one claiming SA looked good to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2010.

The midweek's performance notwithstanding, Carlos Alberto Parreira still has a long way to go before we can say we're ready for the World Cup.

We need to achieve certain crucial things, like matching the international standards during the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup.

This tournament, which will be played in South Africa, features continental or regional champions in Fifa's six confederations - Africa, Asia, the Americas, Oceania, South America and Europe.

Paraguay are a good side, currently leading South America's qualifying competition for 2010 after five unbeaten outings. But we do not know if they came here to win, or took the advantage of the friendly match to try out a few ideas.

Mercurial striker

Moreover, their inspirational striker and match-winner, Roque Santa Cruz, played for just 23 minutes before he was hacked off the pitch by the South African captain and Blackburn Rovers teammate, Aaron Mokoena.

Without the mercurial striker to worry about, the usually jittery Bafana defence were not really tested by the Paraguayan's somewhat laid-back attack.

There will not be another Fifa date for friendlies until Bafana meet Nigeria in their opening match for 2010 qualifying competition in June. Bafana however can still face a quality African team, that is if the SA Football Association make their move now.

They can look at places like Tunisia or Morocco, which may not need their foreign-based stars to give Bafana a good test.

Sudan's team is completely home-based, and they may be considered, more so that they played in the Afcon in Ghana. But to secure such a friendly, SA must be prepared to travel.

Bafana's readiness to conquer the world will be measured by their success in Africa. Nigeria are a big side and Bafana have always got the shivers coming up against the "Super Eagles".

Qualifying match

Their performance, as well as their mental strength, against the west Africans in June will give a good indication of the way going forward, despite the match results.

At the same time as we were beating Paraguay, the SA under-23 side lost 3-0 to their Nigerian counterparts in Abuja for their last qualifying match for the Beijing Olympics' soccer competition. Nigeria's win means they qualify for Beijing, while South Africa will watch the spectacle from home.

This fact alone clearly illustrates the gap between us and Nigeria, and best African soccer nations in west and north Africa.

Though we have automatically qualified for 2010 World Cup, SA should feel glad that we're playing the qualifying matches because that will keep our team busy as Parreira continues to build towards 2010.

The final dress rehearsal should be the 2010 Afcon in Angola. Failure to progress through the first round for the third time in a row, will certain bear a bad omen for the world tournament later that year.

In fact, Bafana do not only need to pass the first round test, they must be one of the dominating sides - like Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana did earlier this year in Ghana.

Most capped player

The Paraguay victory was also crucial in many ways, as several milestones were achieved by Bafana. Firstly, it was the first win over a South American side in 10 matches.

Secondly, captain Aaron Mokoena equalled the record for the most capped player for SA (74), while Benni McCarthy scored his 30th goal to become the all-time best hitman for the SA senior team. Ironically, both marks were previously held by Shaun Bartlett, who has retired from international football.

These milestones are pointing to a new and bright beginning. From here Bafana can only increase the momentum, or get stuck.

Tumo writes exclusively for Sport24.

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