Benni who plays for English Premiership side Blackburn Rovers, said he is excited about the upcoming World Cup and believes football in his country is improving.

“I'm so excited. I'm always finding out what South Africa is doing to prepare for the World Cup - both on and off the field. It would be great to be there, to play in front of my people - and the fact that it's the first World Cup ever to be played in Africa makes it even more special,” McCarthy said in an interview carried on the Fifa website.

Talking about the potential of football in his country at present, he said: “It is making progress. We still have a lot to learn. We're a young nation. We're getting bigger by the day - and we're getting more established on the football field too.

“So, as time goes by, we're getting better and better. Thankfully, we're using the experience of European coaches who are a lot more advanced and experienced than South Africans, but we are still not at the level where we would all love to be at. However, we still have three and a half years to improve by the time the next World Cup comes along. Hopefully, we'll be ready to take on the world by then.”

McCarthy has had problems with his international career in the past as his relationship with previous Bafana coaches was not always a good one. He snubbed the national team on different occasions though he hopes things will change ahead of the 2010 World Cup.

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