Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos has explained why he believes South Africa has what it takes to make to back-to-back wins against number one ranked Morocco in the last 16 of the AFCON.
The Atlas Lions passed unscathed through the group stages of the continental competition, with two wins and draw from their three opening matches to qualify top of Group F.
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At the opposite corner, Bafana collected a win, a draw and a defeat to finish second behind Mali in Group E.
However, speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the last 16 clash, Broos insisted that Bafana have shown that they can topple the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finalists.
"I said already that we are confident and we believe in ourselves, So I don't think that is a big step we made in the last months that we know what we can do," Broos said.
"And therefore, again, we are not afraid of the game of tomorrow [Tuesday] to play our best level.
"So, if we can start the game with the same mindset that we had in the games before then maybe we can create a surprise."
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Sphephelo Sithole and Mihlali Mayambela are the only players in the Bafana Bafana squad that play their club football in Europe, and Broos believes a win against the Atlas Lions will put a spotlight on South African players.
"We are facing a very important match. If we win tomorrow, we might be able to go all the way. It is especially important for South African football.
"For a long time, South Africa was out of international levels like this. I think the last time, it was the quarter-final. I think a few years ago I think, but for the rest, the results was not so good.
"We can change that tomorrow and it should be very important for South African football if we can beat Morocco. Maybe there should be or there will be more interest in South African players because that is a little bit what we don't have in South Africa.
"When there is interest, those players will have the opportunity to go to Europe and get more experience because that is something that we will need in the future.
"So again, it's not important to go through in this tournament but also important for South African football.
The match between Morocco and South Africa is scheduled to kick-off at 22:00. (SA time).
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