South Africa coach Jomo Sono was full of praise for his players following their historic 1-0 win over Slovenia in Daegu, South Korea, on Saturday.
It was the first time South Africa have won a game at the World Cup finals and also the first time they have taken the lead in five games.
Siyabonga Nomvethe's early goal left Bafana Bafana on the brink of qualification for the second round.
Sono said:"The players have done the country proud. They're real heroes.
"They were a bit nervous towards the end of the game, but that's to be expected as most of them have not played at an event as big as the World Cup before."
"We've won in the World Cup for the first time and maybe now we can qualify for the second round as well."
Sono said this was the "pressure game" from which they needed to pick up three points to prolong their interest in the tournament.
"It was not a nice game but at the end of the day we didn't come here to play a nice game but to win."
Sono expressed confidence that his side would make the second round in their final Group B game against Spain on 12 June.
"We're gaining in confidence every day. If we go to the second round we can just go out there and enjoy ourselves."