Bafana Bafana’s destiny in the CHAN is in their hands, as a positive result over Niger will increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Bafana go into the match sitting third in Group C with four points after two matches.
South Africa played to a 1-1 draw against Algeria in their opening game and produced a hard-fought 2-1 win over Guinea early this week.
Protecting the badge
They now go up against a wounded Niger side, who lost their opening two games and currently sit at the bottom of the group.
“We never underestimate anybody. We treat each game with respect and approach it with a positive mindset.
“One of the strongest components we have in our team is that we’re mentally very strong,” said defender Ramahlwe Mphahlele ahead of the game.
“We don’t look at the name of the country. Whoever we play against, we always try and give our best because we know we’re representing our country.
“Whether we play Niger, Sudan, or Nigeria, we can never walk onto a football pitch and think we have won the game. We go out there every day to suffer, to protect the badge, and to fight for our country.”
Positive lessons learnt
Mphahlele added: “In this team, there’s never a moment where we look at the country and say it’s a small country because they haven’t won a game, and then we approach it with a negative mindset.”
Coach Molefi Ntseki also stressed the importance of bringing their A-game, as they have picked up lessons from their game against Guinea.
“I think the lessons learnt from that game [against Guinea], which we view as positives, include the strong mentality of our players and their high level of concentration,” Ntseki said.
Bafana and Niger will lock horns at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda, on Friday night. The game will get underway at 7pm (SA Time).
