Bloemfontein, South Africa - A day before their final Group A match against European champions Spain at Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium, South Africa coach Joel Santana refused to consider the possibility of his team falling at the group stage of the Confederations Cup at home.

"I am not even thinking about it," said the defiant Brazil-born boss. "I know Spain is the number one team in the world, but I have one group, I have one team and tomorrow we will play with belief and personality. If we do, we will have a good match.

"I have 100-per-cent confidence in my team."

The 60-year-old coach, who took over the helm of next year's World Cup hosts in April 2008 when his compatriot Carlos Alberto Parreira quit, said his side would not be intimidated by the tournament favourites.

"I expect so much from my players," he said. "Yes it will be a difficult match, but we need to attack and try to go in front."

Big defender Matthew Booth revealed that the hosts would be gutted to find themselves eliminated after turning around their Confed Cup campaign with a 2-0 win over New Zealand on Wednesday night.

"I think it would be a disaster," he said. "We don't want it to happen and the South African public don't want it to happen, and we hope we can give them something good to watch. None of the players are even considering not playing after this."

On four points, three ahead of the chasing Iraqis, Bafana Bafana need just a draw against La Furia Roja, who have not lost an international match since November of 2006. But the Mamelodi Sundowns player said the team would be trying to stop Spain's streak of matches without a loss at 34 games.

"We need one point, but we are thinking about being more positive than that," he said. "This is going to be a great test for us. It's a chance to see where we stand in the world. We are looking forward to it."

When asked whether the team would be intimidated by the Spanish, who have already qualified for the last four after beating New Zealand 5-0 and Iraq 1-0 in their first two matches, Santana insisted the team would not be nervous, and Booth said the team's spirits were high.

"If we play as a unit, I think we can draw courage and encouragement from each other," said the veteran player. "But it's good that we are meeting them in the last match because we have had time to settle and get our confidence up."

He also said that Egypt's shock 1-0 victory over World champions Italy on Thursday night was an inspiration for the Africans.

"All of the guys have gotten encouragement from the match," he said. "It shows that anything is possible if you work as a team and put your mind to it."

Beyond the disappointment of defeat, Santana revealed that it was important for the team to advance in order to get the practice of playing the world's best teams in an event setting.

"This tournament is important for us to gain experience," he said. "We cannot forget that we have just one year left to prepare for the World Cup after this."(dpa)