By Mohamed Allie BBC Sport, Cape Town

The pressure has eased on Joel Santana after three wins in a row

In contrast to the gloom that permeated the country following their failure to qualify for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, Bafana Bafana are looking ahead with optimism once again.

While a friendly victory over a mainly second-string Black Stars side should not allow the team to get carried away, the win has re-instilled a feel-good factor in the South Africans.

Added to earlier victories against Equatorial Guinea and Malawi, the run of results has certainly eased the pressure on Brazilian coach Joel Santana - for now.

A clearly relieved Santana revealed after the match that he had now identified 70 percent of the squad that will play at next year's Confederations Cup.

He singled out for particular praise newcomer striker Bernard Parker and Russian-based central defender Matthew Booth, who returned to the side after a three-year absence.

"This is a very important player," Santana said of 22-year-old Parker whose second-half winner against Ghana was his third international goal in as many games.

Benni McCarthy has been singled out for praise since his return

"More important than the win is that we are on the right track. A lot of the players are getting better and we are starting to put together a team for the Confederations Cup," the Brazilian said.

Assistant coach Pitso Mosimane was also clearly happy with the team's progress.

"The boys are stroking the ball around very nicely and they are growing in confidence with every game.

"Irrespective of what team you beat, winning creates a healthy atmosphere in the camp," he said.

Mosimane also paid tribute to striker Benni McCarthy in the team's resurgence.

"He has such a positive impact on the team. Whenever he's around you can see the spirits lifting.

"The players, particularly the younger ones, all look up to him because of his class and what he has already achieved.

"The fact that we performed so badly in the four Nations Cup qualifiers he wasn't around for tells a story."

With friendlies against Namibia and Cameroon in November, as well as high-profile ties against Germany, Holland, Portugal, Chile and the Confederations Cup pencilled in for 2009, Bafana Bafana will be looking to improve further before they host the biggest showpiece in the game.